Imam Bayildi is one of the most well-known Turkish “Zeytinyagli” Olive Oil Dishes. In the orginal recipe, fried eggplant stuffed with tomato, onion, garlic and parsley, baked in the oven  and served cold.

My version of Imam Bayildi is lighter and easier than the original one.

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized  eggplants

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 lbs  tomatoes, blanched, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup   chopped parsley

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon caster sugar

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425° F

Peel eggplants leaving lenghtwise stripes,  cut  in to 1-inch  cubes, soak in salted water for 30 minutes, then drain and dry them.

Using a large pan over medium high heat, sauté onions and garlic  in 1/4 cup olive oil until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and parsley, season with  salt, pepper  and sugar.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring ocasionally about 15 minutes.

While sauce is simmiring,  place eggplants in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, toss until the eggplant cubes are well coated. Transfer the eggplants to a large sized oven-proof pan and spread out in to one layer. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until  browned slightly.

Remove the pan from the oven.  Place the roasted eggplants  in the  baking  dish, spread tomato sauce evenly to cover the eggplants.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.  Remove from oven

Serve cold and sprinkle with  fresh parsley before serving

Why did the priest faint? You’ll see :))

Türkçe tarifi yazmayım, herkesin nasılsa alışık olduğu bir İmam bayıldı tarifi vardır. Aslında bu tarif  klasik tariften farklı; patlıcanları yağda kızartmak  yerine fırında kızartıyorum. Light İmam bayıldı :)))