Eggplant Appetizer of the Imam Bayaldi

This is a delicate French version of the classic Middle Eastern baked cold eggplant. Imam Bayaldi means “The Swooning Imam” and the story goes that when the Imam was offered this dish by his wife for the first time, he found the smell and taste of it so unbearably marvelous that he fainted dead away. I have eaten authentic versions in some of the best restaurants of Beirut and Istanbul, but none was quite as dramatic as Mademoiselle Ray’s. For one thing, she adds her unique new dimen