Imam bayildi literally: “the imam fainted” is a Turkish dish from the Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole eggplant stuffed with onion,garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil. Greeks have adapted this dish by adding Feta to the filling and to this day still use the same title.
Ingredients
- 7 large onions
- 7 eggplants
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 3 Tbsp home meade tomato sauce
- FInely chopped parsley
- 3 garlic cloves
- Feta Cheese
- Thin slices of tomato
Directions
Begin by cutting the stems off the eggplants. Carve them slightly and bake them in the oven until a fork can be poked right through! This should take about 30 minutes on 200 degrees Celsius.
While they are baking, prepare the filling.
Finely slice and saute the onion for 2 minutes in some olive oil. Lower the heat and let the onion cook through for another 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, the finely chopped parsley (as much as you like), the finely sliced garlic and some salt and pepper. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
Take your baked eggplants and place them in a large baking tray (ideally with a lid) and cut them length wise in half. Add salt and olive oil in the centre. Fill them with some filling half way then add some feta and top off with some more filling. Do the same for all the eggplants. If you have remaining filling just spread it over the top of the eggplants and all over the tray. Cover the eggplants with thin slices of tomato and season with a bit of salt and some olive oil.
Bake covered at first for 30 minutes on 200 degrees on an air forced fan. Then uncover and bake for an extra 45 minutes on 180 degrees celsius. Serve with feta cheese.