Turkish · Lunch · Dinner
Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant with Onion and Tomato)
İmam bayıldı
Silky whole eggplants split open and packed with sweet slow-cooked onions, garlic, peppers and ripe tomatoes, then baked until meltingly soft. This lighter take roasts the eggplants instead of deep-frying them while keeping the rich olive oil flavour of the Turkish classic.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 60 min
- Total
- 90 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 51% · Fat 41% · Protein 8%
Track it in BerryFit and see how it fits your own daily target. Get the app ›
Ingredients
For 4 servings- 4 medium1,000 gEggplants, medium, long variety
- 1 1/2 tsp9 gSalt
- 3 tbsp40 gExtra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium300 gOnions, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 4 cloves12 gGarlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 medium120 gLong green peppers, sliced
- 3 medium450 gRipe tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp16 gTomato paste
- 1 tspSugar
- 1/2 tspBlack pepper, ground
- 1/2 cup15 gFresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup120 gWater
- 1 tbsp15 gLemon juice
Steps
- 1
Peel the eggplants in lengthwise stripes, leaving the stems on.
- 2
Cut a deep slit along one side of each eggplant, stopping short of both ends and the far side.
- 3
Rub the eggplants inside and out with 1 tsp of the salt and leave for 15 minutes.
- 4
Heat the oven to 220 °C / 425 °F.
- 5
Rinse the eggplants, pat them very dry, brush them with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and place them slit side up in a baking dish.
- 6
Roast for 25 minutes, until soft and lightly browned.
- 7
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat.
- 8
Cook the onions gently for 10 minutes until soft and golden.
- 9
Add the garlic and green peppers and cook for 3 minutes.
- 10
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, black pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and simmer for 7 minutes until thickened.
- 11
Take the filling off the heat and stir in most of the parsley.
- 12
Lower the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F.
- 13
Gently open each eggplant along the slit with a spoon and pack in the filling, spooning any extra on top.
- 14
Mix the water with the lemon juice and pour it into the dish around the eggplants.
- 15
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 5 more minutes until very tender.
- 16
Cool to warm or room temperature, then sprinkle with the remaining parsley before serving.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use a red bell pepper instead of long green peppers if they are hard to find.
- Swap the fresh tomatoes for one 400 g can of diced tomatoes, drained, when tomatoes are out of season.
- Use chopped fresh dill or mint in place of some of the parsley for a different herby finish.
- Leave out the sugar if your tomatoes are very sweet, or use a pinch of honey if you don't need the dish to stay vegan.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a covered container, and eat within 3 to 4 days, either at room temperature or reheated until steaming hot. Freezing is not recommended, as the eggplant turns watery and mushy when thawed.
Make ahead
The onion and tomato filling can be cooked up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge. The whole dish can also be baked a day ahead, since it is traditionally served at room temperature; let it sit out about 30 minutes before serving and add fresh parsley at the end.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
Track this in BerryFit
Log Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant with Onion and Tomato) in one tap and see how it fits your remaining calories for today.
Or ask Coach Berry to change it
Allergens and nutrition
No major allergens in the ingredients.
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (526 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 222 kcal | 42 kcal |
| Protein | 5 g | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30.9 g | 5.9 g |
| of which sugars | 17.3 g | 3.3 g |
| Fiber | 11.1 g | 2.1 g |
| Fat | 10.9 g | 2.1 g |
| of which saturated | 1.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Sodium | 894 mg | 170 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
