Greek Food Festival - Johanna's Stuffed Eggplant

I've made my share of moussaka, eggplant salad/dip, and meat & rice stuffed eggplant. But I've never tried this particular dish. It sounds delicious, and a big plus, is that it can be cooked on the stove top. So no oven heating up the kitchen. A perfect summer meal!

For another tasty Greek dish, check out my recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken on Johanna's blog.

Johanna & Jordan

Here's Johanna's eggplant recipe:

Stuffed Eggplant Braised in Olive Oil, Onion, Garlic and Tomatoes (Imam bayildi)

This is a traditional Turkish dish that is also served in Greece.  In Greece, it is generally served hot.

Serves 4
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1/3 cup chopped white onion
4 large chopped tomatoes (roughly 2 cups)
1 teaspoon garlic puree
2 -3 tablespoons NSA tomato paste
2 -3 tablespoons each of chopped dill, mint and parsley
1 fresh lemon
Olive Oil (roughly 1 tablespoon olive oil per each eggplant)
4 small eggplants or 2 medium/large ones

Preparation

1. To prepare the eggplant:

a)   Slice off a small amount of the bottom so that the eggplant can rest evenly.

b)  Next, peel a slice off each side (but do not peel the entire way around - reference photo) and slice the topside off. 

c)   Hollow out the middle using a knife (cross pattern) and/or spoon (leaving at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch around), taking care not to poke holes in the "boat".

2. To prepare the eggplant stuffing/mixture:

Sauté the white onions (in olive oil) until they are translucent.  Remove from heat.  In a bowl, mix together the chopped tomatoes, garlic puree, tomato paste, dill, mint, parsley. Stuff the eggplant with this mixture.

Squeeze a little lemon juice onto each eggplant and drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil.

3. Cooking instructions:

Place in a Dutch oven, fill 1/2 way up (with water or low-sodium vegetable stock) to the height of the eggplants.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, and cover.  Cook approximately 45 minutes, until the eggplant has become soft.

In Turkey, most people remove from the pan, cool (refrigerate), and it is served at room temperature the next day.  In Greece, we have eaten this dish hot (warm).