Fab Four, Episode 2: Turkish Imam Bayildi

 (See earlier entry, “Fab Four,” for the premise of the next four entries. And also cute pictures of my cat sniffing eggplants.)

My second recipe involves the Italian eggplant, which is similar in size to the Iranian variety. Owing to its smallish size, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes of all time, Imam Bayildi (or Imam Baildi). This Turkish dish supposedly translates as “the priest fainted”; as the story goes, an imam who encountered this dish was overwhelmed by all the oil and swooned.

The best thing about this straightforward dish is the long cooking time, which allows the tomato mixture to caramelize; in fact, if it isn’t thoroughly caramelized when you take it from the oven, you’re removing it too soon. This dish is especially good after sitting overnight. It is best served at room temperature or slightly warmed on a pile of fava beans or braised greens.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 Italian eggplants (or other comparably petite varieties)

4 ripe tomatoes

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 good-sized handful of fresh parsley, minced

1 good-sized handful of pine nuts (which unfortunately I didn’t have today, pardon their absence)

ca. 1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Cut eggplants in half, coat spongy side in olive oil, and roast in the oven at 350°F for about 10-20 minutes, or however long it takes to prepare tomato mixture.

Chop onion and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Add crushed garlic. Don’t leave garlic in the pot for too long before adding tomatoes: garlic will burn fast and burnt garlic is pretty nasty. 

Add chopped tomatoes and cook down for about 10 minutes. 

Add sugar, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts and parsley. Remove eggplants from oven. Top each eggplant with a generous pile of tomato mixture and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes – however long it takes for the outside to become caramelized.

Imam Bayildi is delicious with flatbread, spicy olives, and a slab of white cheese (like feta, smoked mozzarella or Turkish-style farmer's cheese). Mmm... I’ve eaten about five times today and I’m salivating anyway.