Recipe - Stuffed Baby Eggplants (Imam Bayaldi)

6 Baby eggplants
3 tablespoon Olive oil
1 lg Onion
Quartered and thinly cut or sliced up
2 Cloves garlic; crushed
14 ounce Canned minced tomatoes in
juice
Drained and juice reserved
One half cup Chopped fresh parsley
1 Bay leaf
One half teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
One fourth cup Fresh lemon juice
One half teaspoon Sugar
Chopped fresh parsley to
garnish; (optional)
12 SERVINGS DAIRYFREE

The name of this popular Turkish dish means "the Imam (priest) fainted."
There are two thoughts on how this name was derived: The first is that the
priest fainted with pleasure at the wonderful rich taste; the second is
that he fainted due to the copious amount of oil used to create the recipe.
We greatly reduced the oil but retained the wonderful flavor. For a buffet
menu, the baby eggplants are a perfect choice as the portion size is
smaller.

Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Using a melon bailer or small spoon,
carefully scoop out flesh, leaving about One half inch and keeping the skin of
eggplant intact.

Finely chop flesh and set aside. Arrange eggplant shells in large skillet
that will hold them snugly. In medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over
medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and
beginning to brown, about 10 minutes, Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1
minute more. Add tomatoes, reserved eggplant flesh, parsley, bay leaf and
cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until
eggplant is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 10
minutes. Remove pan from heat; discard bay leaf and fill eggplant shells
with mixture (they will be very full).

In small bowl, mix remaining oil, lemon juice, reserved tomato juice and
sugar. Pour over stuffed eggplants. Cover and cook over low heat until
eggplants are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from hear and allow to
cool in skillet.

Carefully transfer eggplants to a serving platter, reshaping if necessary.
Spoon pan juices over and around eggplants. Serve warm, at room
temperature, or covet and chill to serve cold. Sprinkle with chopped
parsley if desired.

PER SERVING: 68 CAL.; 1G PROT.; 4G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT. FAT); 8G CARB.; 0
CHOL.; 176MG SOD.; 1G FIBER..

Recipe by: Vegetarian Times Magazine, August 1998, page 42

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.