Baked Eggplants With Tomatoes Onions Garlic Imam Baildi Recipes

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH TOMATOES - MELITZANES IMAM

Steps:

• Remove the tops and bottoms of the eggplants. Cut them in half lengthwise to create eggplant boats.
• Place the eggplants in a big bowl with cold water and soak them for 30 minutes. You may place a plate on top to weigh them down. The soaking helps remove the bitter flavor from eggplants skin.
• Preheat oven to 230°C / 446°F.
• Drain the eggplants and place in a casserole dish. Score them with a knife creating deep criss-cross lines to help the eggplants bake well in the center. Take the 1 cup of olive oil and using a spoon, add spoonfuls of the oil on each eggplant.
• Season the eggplants with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Bake for 30 minutes until nicely roasted on top. Meanwhile, start preparing the tomato sauce.
• Heat the splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion slices and cook until completely softened.
• Stir in the tomatoes and season with some kosher salt, ground pepper, and ground nutmeg. Cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to drain and become mushy. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more stirring occasionally.
• Using a fork press the eggplants a bit to make some space for the sauce to sit on. Add spoonfuls of the sauce on the eggplant boats. Reduce heat to 160°C / 320°F and slow-cook the eggplants for about 35 minutes. Then raise the temperature again to 200°C / 392°F and roast the eggplants for about 10-15 minutes more.
• Serve with chopped fresh parsley on top.

TOMATO EGGPLANT BAKE

Steps:

• Place eggplant slices in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with salt and toss. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. , Preheat oven to 450°. Layer eggplant, tomato and onion in a lightly greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with basil. Cover and bake 20 minutes. , Toss bread crumbs and remaining butter. Arrange mozzarella cheese over vegetables; sprinkle with crumb mixture and Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

BAKED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Prepare a baking dish with non-stick play.
• Arrange eggplant and tomato slices into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables; season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the entire mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Switch oven broiler to high; continue baking until completely browned, about 5 minutes.

ARMENIAN STUFFED EGGPLANT (IMAM BAYILDI)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Cut eggplants in 1/2, then cut each 1/2 into thirds, leaving 12 eggplant spears total. Place on a baking sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• While eggplants are cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a medium to large pan. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the hot pan and cook until onions become tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Remove eggplants from the oven and let cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer eggplants to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Slice each spear vertically using a fork and knife, being careful not to cut through skin. Pry each open and fill with 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato filling. Cover with tomato sauce.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

IMAM BAYILDI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and brush with olive oil. Slit the eggplants down the middle, being careful not to cut through the skin. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until the outer skin begins to shrivel. Remove from the oven and transfer, cut side down, to a colander set in the sink. Allow to drain for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, lidded skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender, 5 to 8 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt to taste and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil.
• Turn the eggplants over and place in the pan, cut side up. Season with salt. Fill with the onion and tomato mixture. Mix together the remaining olive oil, the remaining sugar, the water and the lemon juice. Drizzle over and around the eggplants. Cover the pan and place over low heat. Cook gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking the pan for liquid and basting from time to time with the liquid in the pan, and adding water to the pan if it becomes too dry. By the end of cooking the eggplants should be practically flat and the liquid in the pan slightly caramelized. Spoon this juice over the eggplant. Allow to cool in the pan, and serve at room temperature.

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH ONIONS & FRESH TOMATOES

Steps:

• Trim the stem and bottom ends of each eggplant and, with a vegetable peeler, shave off ribbons of skin lengthwise, creating a zebra-striped pattern all around. Slice the eggplants crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Lightly salt the slices on both sides, using about a tablespoon in all, and layer them in the colander, set in a bowl or the sink. Invert a dinner plate over the piled slices, and weight it with cans or other heavy objects, to press out the vegetable liquid. Let the rounds drain for 30 minutes to an hour, then rinse them, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°.
• Trim the stem end of the plum tomatoes, and cut them in half crosswise. Squeeze the halves over a strainer set in a bowl, scraping out and catching the seeds in the strainer and collecting the tomato juices in the bowl. Cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch chunks, put them all in a bowl, and toss with the cubes of cheese, chopped basil, peperoncino, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil.
• Brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Lay the onion rounds in the bottom in one layer, with the garlic cloves scattered among them, and drizzle over them the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices over the onions in an even layer, overlapping a bit if necessary. Scatter the tomato and cheese chunks evenly on top of the eggplant, and drizzle the collected tomato juices all over.
• Put the bread crumbs and all the dry seasonings in a bowl, toss to blend, then drizzle over them the 2 tablespoons olive oil, and toss well, until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Sprinkle them evenly over the top of the eggplant, tomato, and cheese layer.
• Tent the baking dish with a sheet of heavy aluminum foil, arching it so it doesn't touch the crumb topping, and pressing it against the sides. Set the dish on the baking sheet, place in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes, until the juices are bubbling actively. Remove the foil, and continue baking for another 30 minutes or so, until the eggplant is lightly caramelized on the edges but tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, and the bread-crumb topping is browned and crisp.
• Let the eggplant rest for 20 minutes before serving (it will absorb the sauce, and the cheese will settle a bit, too). Serve as you would lasagna, cutting portions with a knife and lifting them out with a wide spatula into warm shallow bowls. If you like, sprinkle shredded fresh basil over each portion.
• Baked Eggplant
• I know from years as a restaurateur that just about everyone, even the meat-and-potato type, loves eggplant parmigiana, hot from the oven, stuff ed with molten cheese. I love that Italian-American classic, too, but there are many more great eggplant dishes I've encountered in my travels through Italy, which I want to share with you.
• In Sardinia, I was delighted to find a tradition of baked eggplant dishes, with ingredients, tastes, and textures that I knew would appeal to Americans. Here are two-I couldn't choose between them, so I decided to give you both. They have tomato: fresh tomatoes in one, savory tomato sauce in the other. They have cheese: grated pecorino topping on one, a vein of young pecorino (or mozzarella) chunks in the other. Best of all, they have thick layers of tender yet meaty eggplant. And in these preparations, the eggplant slices don't need frying (as in most eggplant parmigiana recipes), which saturates them with more olive oil than necessary. No frying and great flavor-I love these and am sure you will, too.
• These are practical dishes as well. Best served hot, they are both also excellent at room temperature. And you can prepare either in advance, baking it three-quarters of the way to start, then finishing it when your guests arrive. Leftovers, if you have any, are a treat. A baked-eggplant sandwich is one of my favorites!

BAKED EGGPLANTS WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS, GARLIC - (IMAM BAILDI) RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut the stalks off the eggplants and rinse them. Using a sharp knife, slit them lengthwise on one side only, making sure you do not slit all the way through. They should open like a wallet, so you can put the stuffing in the opening. Shallow-fry them gently all around in 4 tablespoons olive oil. If not enough you can add some more oil in the frying pan. Take out and arrange side by side in a small oven dish and season them. Put the rest of the olive oil in a saucepan and sautee the onions and garlic in it until they are slightly golden. Add fresh tomatoes and half a cupful of water. Season. Add the oregano and sugar and cook gently, covered, for 15 minutes. With a spoon, fill the eggplants with this stuffing, opening them slightly. They should be quite soft by now. Virtually pile the stuffing in them, filling them generously. Normally they generate enough juices on their own so no addition of liquid is necessary in the oven dish. Cook in a pre-heated oven, gas no. 4 (350 grades F/180 grades C), for 4O minutes; baste them once during cooking.