Welcome to my kitchen! Today, I’m sharing a classic Turkish dish: Imam Bayildi, or Stuffed Eggplant. This recipe features tender eggplants filled with a flavorful mix of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and spices, all cooked in a generous amount of olive oil. It’s a vegetarian delight that’s perfect for any meal.
Ingredients:
5 large eggplants 🍆 (or garden eggplants) – I used 3.5, but I had some filling left over from one eggplant
3 large onions 🧅 (I added red onion for extra flavor, optional)
4-5 green peppers 🌶️ (sweet or hot, to taste)
1 red bell pepper 🌶️
1 cup cherry tomatoes 🍅 (from our garden)
Generous olive oil 🫒 (about 1.5 standard teacups)
Salt 🧂
4-5 cloves garlic 🧄 (optional)
Spices (black pepper, red pepper, etc., optional)
Instructions:
Wash the eggplants and peel if desired. Scoop out the insides, leaving about a finger-width of the flesh, and set aside.
Dice the peppers.
Cut the onions in half and chop like salad onions.
Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a pot. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions, green peppers, and red bell pepper.
Add the chopped cherry tomatoes and the eggplant flesh. Add salt and cover the pot. Sauté the filling until it starts to stick to the bottom. Cook without stirring, allowing the bottom to caramelize a bit but be careful not to burn it.
Salt the eggplants and let them sit to remove bitterness. You will see little bubbles forming.
Wash the eggplants and optionally cut them in half from the top. If the eggplants are large, you don’t need to cut all the way through; just make a slit from top to bottom. Roast or cook the eggplants. Fill the eggplants with the mixture and cook them. Remember to turn them occasionally.
After the eggplants are tender, cook the filling for 20 minutes. Sauté the filling over low heat for 20 minutes. Total cooking time is 45 minutes.
In the last 30 minutes, add the chopped garlic and your spices.
Place the eggplants in a baking dish and spoon the filling on top. For the sauce, mix 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of oil, and 1 standard glass of warm water. Pour the sauce over the eggplants.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) and roast the eggplants for 10 minutes. Wait for the sauce to soak into the eggplants. Baking is not mandatory, but it enhances the flavor.
Serve once cooled or warm. Olive oil dishes generally taste better once cooled or warm.
Enjoy this delicious, traditional Turkish dish!
Note: There are several stories behind the name of this dish, but the most popular and accepted one is that an imam fainted from the deliciousness of this dish. According to one legend, when an imam’s wife first served this dish to him, he fainted after tasting the marvelous flavor. 😅
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🎉🎉🎉🎉