Imam Bayildi
Traditional Turkish Vegan main meal
Ingredients
- 5 large eggplants
- 2 large onions
- 2 bell peppers
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the eggplants, pat dry. Cut off a small slice of the bottom of the eggplant. Using a sharp potato peeler, peel the eggplant in 4 evenly spaced strips, so that some of the eggplant is exposed. Place into a large bowl of cold water, sprinkle with plenty of salt and let soak for about one hour. This procedure will help remove the bitterness of the eggplant.
- Chop the onions into half moons and thinly slice the garlic.
- Wash and pat dry the bell pepper. We recommend one green and one red for the sweetness. Cut into medium sized cubes.
- Wash the tomatoes. Using the potato peeler, peel off the skin, or if you prefer, blanche and peel. Cut into bite sized cubes.
- Time to make the filling. In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil with 1/4 cup olive oil, setting medium heat.
- Add onions to pan, sautee until soft, approx. 5 minutes. Cover pan with lid to sweat the onions, not to caramelize. After 5 minutes add the garlic and sautee. Cover for another 5 minutes.
- Put the peppers into the pan and mix well. Add in the tomatoes and 1/2 of the chopped parsley. Reserve the other 1/2 for serving. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and lower heat to simmer. Allow to cook about 15 minutes. Once vegetables are soft and cooked, remove from heat. Place into a bowl and set aside.
- Do not rinse the saucepan to make a tomato sauce. Simply keep the pan on the low heat and put in one tablespoon tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir it around and cook for about 1-2 minutes, just to warm it up. Pour in 1 cup water. Mix until it just starts bubbling, then remove from heat. Set aside.
- Remove the eggplants from the water. Do not rinse, just pat dry. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or baking paper. Sprinkle with salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Rub the eggplant with the oil and bake in the oven about 25 minutes, or until a bit soft.
- Remove from oven and set aside. Allow to cool a bit.
- Prepare a large baking dish to place the eggplants side by side to cook. Oil bottom of pan with olive oil and place the parsley stalks on the bottom of the pan. Put the eggplants into the pan. Preset oven to 180 celsius or 365 farenheit.
- Make an incision lengthwise in the eggplants, leaving 2 cm ( 1" ) at both ends, without cutting through the bottom. Using 2 spoons, open up the incision and shape the eggplant into a boat. Stuff the eggplant with the vegetable mixture.
- With a ladle, pour the tomato sauce over each eggplant, and a ladle or two into baking dish. Reserve some to spoon onto eggplant at serving. Bake about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven. Its ready to be served when golden brown.
