İmam Bayıldı (Stuffed Aubergines in Olive Oil)
The best-known of all olive-oil dishes: aubergines stuffed with onion and tomato, baked slowly.
- Time
- 75 minutes
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Cuisine
- Turkish
The name comes from the most-told story in Turkish cooking: the imam is said to have fainted on tasting it — in some versions from the flavour, in others from the sheer amount of olive oil that went into it. Either way both versions say the same thing: in this recipe the oil is not a measured ingredient but the backbone of the dish.
İmam bayıldı is the most striking member of the zeytinyağlı family. What separates it from karnıyarık is that it contains no meat and is eaten cold; the two are often confused, but this is the olive-oil one. The spongy flesh of the aubergine draws the oil in, and as the dish cools that oil gives it back carrying the flavour of tomato and onion. Eating it hot means missing half the recipe.
Directions
- Peel the aubergines in stripes and cut a lengthwise slit in each. Soak in salted water for 20 minutes to draw out bitterness, then pat dry.
- Turn the aubergines in half the olive oil until soft all over, then transfer to a baking dish.
- In the remaining oil, soften the onion slowly without browning (10 minutes).
- Add the garlic, chopped tomato and pepper; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar, salt and parsley.
- Open the slit in each aubergine and fill generously with the mixture; top each with a slice of tomato.
- Pour the hot water into the dish and bake at 180°C for 35-40 minutes.
- Serve warm or fully cooled — never hot.
Tips & storage
Salt the aubergines — do not skip it. Twenty minutes in salted water does more than draw out bitterness: it firms the cell structure, so the aubergine absorbs less oil when fried. Pat them dry before they meet the pan, or the water will make the oil spit.
Don't be afraid to fry in olive oil. Contrary to common belief, extra virgin stands up to these temperatures; the detail is in is olive oil suitable for frying. Even so, do not let the oil smoke: aubergine is turned over medium heat, without hurry.
Don't brown the onion. It needs to turn translucent and sweeten, not colour. Browned onion makes the filling bitter.
Serving and storage. Eat it warm at the earliest, ideally the next day — a night's rest settles the flavours. It keeps three days sealed in the fridge; take it out half an hour before serving, as cold oil closes down the aroma.
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