Imam bayildi (3 colours)
Posted by Mackey in Turkish on Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Imam bayildi (also known as Imam bayouldi) is a lovely vegetarian Turkish dish. It is both sweet and healthy, which pleases Ian as he has a very sweet tooth.
Ingredients
Aubergine - 2
Olive oil - 6 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Onions - 2, chopped
Canned chopped tomatoes - 2 400g cans
Red peppers - 2, deseeded and chopped
Celery stick - 1, sliced
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Sultanas - 1 tbsp
Flat-leaf parsley - 1 tbsp
Method
1) Cut each aubergine in half lengthways. Scoop out the flesh, leaving 1 cm of flesh around the inside of each shell. Chope the flesh. Sprinkle the flesh and shells with salt and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
2) Heat half the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until slightly softened.
3) Rinse the aubergine and drain well, then add the flesh to the saucepan with the tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add the red peppers, celery, raisins, sultanas and chopped parsley to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4) Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4. Put the aubergine shells in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the tomato mixture into the shells. Drizzle with the remaining oil. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold with rice or quinoa. (Serves 4)