– STUFFED AUBERGINE/ STUFFED EGGPLANT/ ĪMAM BAYILDI -(Clerk Fainted)

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Level: Easy

Serve: 3

Stuffed eggplant ( Īmam bayildi) is simple to prepare and it is perfect for a side to grilled meat or a vegetarian main dish. Īmam bayildi-(The Clerk fainted) is the most famous of Turkish olive oil food.

There are some funny story to explain why the name is coming from. Commonly knowing one is that Īmam (Clerk) found the taste so overwhelmingly perfect tasty and he fainted from delight, after a bite the stuffed eggplant. An other story says that he learnt the amount of olive oil that put into the dish and how much expensive olive oil was used, he was worried about his money spent and he just fainted.

– INGREDIENTS-

3 medium size aubergines (eggplants), peeled in stripes and slid an opening in the middle of eggplant, it looks like a canoe. Put into salted water and dry well with towels.

1 large onion, chopped

4 medium size fresh green pepper, chopped

3 medium tomato, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon  good quality tomato paste

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
A pinc of sugar.
1 cup hot water mixed with 1 teaspoon tomato paste.

Ground black pepper, sea salt, red pepper flakes to taste.

–   DIRECTIONS –

1- Heat 3 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over the medium heat and add the onions and add the garlic, chopped fresh green pepper then fry them, stirring frequently until yellowish so the garlic doesn’t burn.

2- Add the tomato paste and chopped tomato, a pinch if sugar, 1tbsp fresh lemon juice and add the seasoning, cook it and add chopped parsley. Set aside it.

3- Heat 5 tablespoon olive oil in a pan, over a high heat, fry the eggplants on each side until they are golden brown. Remove it from the pan to drain on some paper towels. Set the eggplants in a pan to cool.

4- Equally divide the cooked filling among the eggplants, stuff them well. Pour the mixed hot water into the pan and cook it over the medium heat about 20-30 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked thoroughly.(Second option for cooking; you can bake stuffed eggplant,40 minutes to 230 C.degrees.) Serve it warm or cold.

Enjoy it!

Chop , tomato, fresh sweet green pepper, onion, parsley, garlic.

Fry the onion, fresh pepper, garlic and tomato.

Add the tomato paste,chopped parsley, a pinch of sugar, lemon juice.

Pour the mixed hot water into the pan and cook.