Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant)

Imam Bayildi latterly means The Imam Fainted – a wonderfully descriptive and playful name for a recipe. Of course, no one really knows if the fabled Imam from the Ottoman Empire really fainted after tasting this dish. In fact, there is no real indication an Imam was involved in the initial tasting. Nonetheless, the name still tells us this dish originated from the Turkish region of the ex-Ottoman Empire. It was tasty. And judging from the description of someone fainting after tasting it, and the playful nature of the name, I guess it was extremely tasty.

Today, this stuffed eggplant dish is available throughout Turkey, with many, many variations on what was the original in a post-Columbus Turkey – we know that because eggplant and tomatoes were not introduced to Europe and Asia until at least the late 15^th century.

My version includes a small amount of roasted sweet pepper, along with the more traditional filling ingredients of onions and tomatoes. I do most of the cooking in the oven which helps keep the amount of oil to a minimum without sacrificing too much in the succulent nature of a dish that caused an Imam to faint.

Difficulty: moderate

Yield: makes about 4-6 servings.