Stuffed Eggplant – Imam Bayaldi

Turkish stuffed eggplant in olive oil is a classic dish with a classic story: The name roughly translates as “The Priest Fainted,” though no one knows quite why. Some hold the imam was so overcome by the deliciousness of this dish that he fell into a swoon. Others say he was overcome with shock by the amount of precious (and expensive) olive oil in the dish. Those of us who know how much oil (or butter) the sponge-like eggplant can consume and how delicious it tastes can believe both stories.

3 medium eggplants
6 TB salt, divided
6 medium onions, finely sliced into rings
15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/2 Cup olive oil, divided
6 large cloves garlic
1 Cup water
2 TB flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped

Prepare the eggplant by chopping off the ends and cut in half lengthwise. Make slashes in the flesh along the length and sprinkle with 2 TB salt. Soak in cold water with a weighted plate on top. Toss the onion slices in 2 TB of salt and place in a strainer or colander over the sink. Leave both at room temperature–this removes excess moisture and any bitter flavor. After  30 minutes, rinse and dry the eggplant and onions. Mix together the onion, tomatoes and remaining 2 TB. salt. In a lidded pan that can go on the stove top put 2 TB olive oil and arrange the eggplant cut side up in a single layer. Stuff the tomato onion mixture into the slashes and then top with the remaining mixture. Place a garlic clove on top of each eggplant and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Pour 1 cup water around the vegetables and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour until cooked.

Remove from heat and leave to cool before transferring to a serving dish and sprinkle with parsley and red onion to serve at room temperature. Serve with crusty bread and green salad for a meal that you can swoon over as well.

Serves: 4.
Prep. time: 1 hour (includes soaking and salting)
Cooking time: 1 hour

Eggplant Dip with Pita Crisps – Baba Ganoush

Spicy, zesty eggplant dip. We toyed with the traditional recipe a bit to make it easier, and were tempted to rename it Baba O’Penzeys, but we figured it is still close enough to the original Turkish recipe to call it baba ganoush. At any rate, it’s a dip that by any other name would still taste as sweet...

Eggplant Dip:
2 medium eggplants
2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, minced (1/4 Cup)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 TB tahini (sesame paste)
2 lemons, juice of (roughly 1/4 Cup)
1-2 tsp. salt
1 TB. chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro for garnish

Pita Crisps:
6 pita bread rounds
1-2 TB olive oil
2 tsp. zatar

Preheat oven to 375°. Pour the olive oil onto a baking sheet. Cut the eggplants in half, place cut-side down on the baking sheet, rubbing the cut side in the olive oil on the pan. Roast until the eggplant is soft, about 30 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, mince the onion and garlic and whisk the tahini and lemon juice together, which will make it easier to blend with the eggplant. Remove eggplant from oven and pan, let cool. Peel off skin, hand mash or puree with garlic, onion, tahini-lemon mix and salt to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro, serve with pita crisps.

To make the pita crisps, cut each pita into 8 pizza-style wedges. Brush with olive oil (this can be done before cutting), sprinkle with zatar, and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 8-10 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.

Yield: about 2 cups dip and 64 crisps.
Prep. time: 10 minutes

Hazim’s Chicken and Pasta

Hazim’s Chicken & Pasta is named after Todd Lowe’s Turkish friend, Hazim. After he made it one evening for the Lowes and friends, they insisted that he do it again and provide a cooking lesson. Although Hazim lives in Istanbul and shops at the spice market, he commented that Todd Lowe’s spices (from Penzeys), were stronger. The chicken should marinate for a day prior to cooking. The seasoned chicken also freezes well and is ready to cook when you are.

Hazim’s Chicken:
2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
3 oz. tomato paste (you need 3 oz.
for the pasta as well, so a 6 oz. can
is perfect)
6 oz. plain yogurt
2 TB olive oil
1 TB granulated garlic
1 TB salt
2 tsp. Turkish oregano
1-2 tsp. hot red pepper
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper
5 tsp. ground cumin

Clean the chicken and remove excess fat. Lightly score the chicken. Mix the tomato paste, yogurt, and olive oil, then thoroughly mix in the spices. If you use the larger amount of hot pepper, the chicken will be pretty darn spicy. Remove 1/3 of the mixture and refrigerate it in a covered container separate from the raw chicken. Pour the rest into a quart storage bag with the chicken and refrigerate overnight. Remove the chicken from the bag and place in an oiled grilling basket, discarding the bag. Place the basket on a hot charcoal grill, turning frequently. After several turns, pour the extra refrigerated sauce over the chicken. Let it cook a few more minutes. Ideally the chicken should be lightly charred on the outside, but moist on the inside. If you don’t own a grill basket or it’s winter in Wisconsin, an electric grill pan works well too.

Serves: 4-6.
Prep. time: 30 minutes plus marinating time.
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes.

Hazim’s Pasta:
16 oz. flat, wide egg noodles or
dumpling noodles
1 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
3 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Turkish oregano
1/2-1 tsp. hot red pepper
1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, place butter, olive oil, and tomato paste in a small sauce pan over low heat and stir. Mix in the spices and stir well. Again, using the full amount of hot peppers will make the pasta quite spicy. Drain pasta, return to pan, and mix in the sauce. The pasta sauce can also be made in larger batches and frozen for later use.

Serves: 4-6.
Prep. time: 5 minutes.
Cooking time: 10 minutes.