Griddle Pan Turkish Eggplant {Imam Bayildi} with Mint ‘Zoodles’

kellie anderson

12 years ago

Can I entice you with a recipe that apparently induces fainting? Sounds rather alarming, doesn’t it?

The famous Turkish mezze dish, Imam Bayildi, translates as “the Imam fainted.” From pleasure or shock, we know not. But really, who doesn’t want a bit of that?

As with much of ancient-ish history the origins of the name are a bit murky, but in this case can be pinned down to three scenarios – all involving olive oil. The one I fancy most implies that a Turkish holy man fainted when he heard the cost of preparing this, his favourite dish. It seems his new bride came with a generous dowry of 12 man-sized jars of golden olive oil. As a good wife she prepared many dishes to please her new husband. One day, she prepared a slow-cooked, olive oil-drowned, stuffed aubergine dish that he loved so much that he ordered that she prepare it every day. On the thirteenth day she offered something else for his meal and, when he queried this change in menu, she meekly told him that she had run out of oil. A whole dowry’s worth of oil. Astonishing. And thus, with this news, he fainted. Other versions are scarcely more credible: she made this dish, with all of its rich olive oil, and he fainted with pleasure. {Obviously he didn’t get out much.}

So. Much. Olive oil.

There are lighter versions of this kicking around the Internet, although most still have more fat than I feel comfortable using. Some recipes are quite elaborate and time consuming, others simpler and more mid-week meal territory. I think mine is definitely the latter – one pan and 35 or so minutes are all you need. But where I differ is in the method and presentation – no stuffing is involved. And I’ve added some different but complementing ingredients too. Actually it is more of a Turkish ratatouille, I guess. But that doesn’t sound as cool as The Imam Fainted.

This CAN be the stuffed little mezze that is was originally – easily – but I made it to be an easy, unfussy main dish, served over freshly shredded and raw courgette noodles {zoodles}, with perhaps a folded wedge of warmed Turkish flatbread. Rachel and Andrew absolutely loved it, scoffing down the leftovers before I had a look in. Apparently it tasted even better the next day.

Aubergines and tomatoes are still very much in season here in the UK, but as these are year-round crops Imam Bayildi can be made when winter carbs and root vegetables are getting a bit too much. We try and keep it seasonal here at food to glow, but I will be making this when snow is on the ground and my olive oil is chilled to a cylindrical block in my cupboard. Not long now then!

Griddle Pan Turkish Eggplant {Imam Bayildi} with Mint Zoodles

Servings: 4
Time: 35
Difficulty: easy
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Unashamedly inauthentic but utterly delicious, this healthier Imam Bayildi eschews the oil bath of most similar recipes, and offers a touch of Syria with the herbs too. You don’t have to use the griddle pan with this but it makes it a pretty much one-pan dish if you do. You could also bake the aubergines (pierce first!) at 180C for an hour and scoop out the cooked flesh, but I really like it done on the griddle. Quicker too.

And don’t worry if you don’t have a spiraliser or mandoline for the courgette noodles, just thinly slice the courgettes (the idea is for them to kind of cook in the residual heat of the aubergine) or have as is with some rice or bread.

4 tbsp olive oil

2 lg aubergines/eggplants, sliced ½ inch thick

1 lg mild onion, chopped or thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, skinned

400g chopped cherry tomatoes OR 2 large tomatoes, cored and chopped (I popped mine in a food processor and pulsed)

1/4 – ½ tsp dried chilli, crushed or freshly ground

1 tsp cumin seeds, dry toasted until fragrant the crushed (or use ½ tsp ground cumin)

1 tsp fennel seeds, dry toasted and crushed

2 tsp sundried tomato paste or 2 tsp tomato paste with a pinch of sugar

Juice of ½ lemon (more to taste)

Cupped handful each of parsley and mint, chopped

Pine nuts, to garnish (optional)

Zoodles {Zucchini Noodles}

2 courgettes/zucchini

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp lemon juice

a little good olive oil

1. Heat a griddle pan. Brush the aubergine slices with some of the oil (probably about 2 tbsp in total) and cook on the griddle in batches, until soft and darkly griddle-marked. Set aside to cool a bit, then cut into bite-sized pieces with knife or scissors. This took me about 10 minutes for the two aubergines.

2. Mix the remaining oil with the onions and garlic and add to the griddle pan or sauté pan. Cook until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently. Add in the remaining ingredients except the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of each of the herbs (and zoodle stuff). Stir and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the rest of the herbs, lemon juice and the griddled, chopped aubergine pieces. Let this sit on a low heat while you make the zoodles.

3. Use a spiraliser, mandoline or julienne peeler to make zoodles (zucchini noodles). Pop the zoodles into a bowl and use your hands to mix in the mint, oil and lemon.

4. Give everyone a nest of minty zoodles and top with the Griddled Imam Bayildi. This is even better the next day so make more than you think you’ll eat. This serves 4 as written.

Incidentally I was recently sent a gadget that I didn’t even know I needed, a chilli grinder. It is quite a sleek and useful little thing that – seeing as we are quite the chilli-heads – we use often. I used it for this dish. All you do is add your choice of hot dried chillies, give a gentle twist and out comes a fine dusting of heat. Much better than biting into larger chunks of dried chilli. I really like it and have already added more hot chillies to top it up. Rachel really took to it so I’m pretty surprised that it didn’t accidentally get stowed away in her luggage for University. For this and other unusual and practical goodies check out the selection over at Qwerkity.