Baked Aubergines Stuffed with Tomatoes

Name: Baked Aubergines Stuffed with Tomatoes (Imam Bayeldi)
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 lemon; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 4 red onions, sliced; 6 aubergines, halved lengthways; leaves reserved; a small bunch of coriander, stems chopped,; 2 bay leaves; 400 g/14 oz tomatoes, diced; 1 teaspoon dried mint; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 150 ml/¼ pint olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling; 2 garlic cloves, sliced

Imam Bayeldi

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Eagle Cookbook

By David Eyre

Published 2009

About

This is a classic Turkish dish. The name means ‘the Imam fainted’, the story being that the Imam, or clergyman, swooned with joy when his wife presented it to him. Serve with a green salad dressed with tahini and lemon.

Ingredients

6 aubergines, halved lengthways
4 red onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced

Asia
Turkey
Lunch
Main course
Vegan
Gluten-free

Method

Score the flesh of the aubergines, then scoop it out with a spoon, being careful not to tear the skin. Dice the flesh, salt it lightly and set aside in a colander to drain. Salt the shells and leave them upside down to drain for 30 minutes. Wash and pat dry.

Sweat the onion and garlic in 100 ml