Imam Bayildi
(from cckelly’s recipe box)
I have seen this stuffed eggplant dish win converts; people who don’t like eggplant have requested seconds.
Source: Sundays at the Moosewood cookbook pp. 77
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 80 minutes
Serves 6 people
Categories: Main Dish, vegetarian
Ingredients
- 3 small to medium eggplants
- STUFFING:
- 3 cups chopped or thinly sliced onions
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1 c. chopped, fresh parsley
- 1/2 c. chopped, fresh basil (2 Tbsp dried)
- 4 or 5 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 c. whole wheat bread crumbs
- GARNISH:
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
Directions
-
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, score their flesh in a crisscross pattern and sprinkle salt on the cut surfaces. Lay them down in a colander to allow the bitter juices to drain.
-
After 1/2 an hour, squeeze them, rinse them in cold water, squeeze again and pat dry.
-
Saute the onions in 1/4 c. of olive oil until softened. Add the parsley and basil.
-
Remove the onions from the skileet and combine them with the tomatoes. Salt to taste.
-
Oil a large baking pan and preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
-
Heat a Tbsp of olive oil and a Tbst of butter in the skiillet. Saute the garlic and bread crumbs, stirring constantly, until the oil is evenly distributed, ther are no lumps, and the crubms are gloden brown. Salt to taste.
-
Rub the eggplant halves with a little oil and lightly salt them. Mound each half with the vegetable mixture and top with the bread crumbs. Add enough water to barely cover the bottom of the baking pan, arrange the stuffed eggplants, and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
-
Bake for one hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until browned.
-
Garnish each eggplant half with a lemon wedge. Serve w/ rice Pilaf, Orzo or Bulgur pilaf.
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NOTES for choosing Eggplants:
-
The seeds are what makes eggplant bitter, they contain alkaloids.
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Younger eggplant = less seeds = less bitter.
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Female eggplants have more seeds and are thus more bitter.
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Choosing male vs. female eggplants: on the bottom of the eggplnant is a white “navel”; the female has a larger, oval shaped navel while the male ahs a smaller, more circular navel.