Decemper 13 - Imambayildi - All Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant

Prep. Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 20 min
4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 large (and slim, if possible) eggplants/aubergines
• 1 large onion, halved and finely sliced
• 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp dried mint
• Salt and black ground pepper to taste
• Olive oil (or canola oil) for light frying
• Extra wedges of lemon to serve

1. Peel the eggplants/ aubergines length ways in zebra stripes, then cut the eggplants / aubergines in half length ways. 
2. Cut a split length ways without cutting through to the skin on the opposite side and leaving 1/2″-13 mm- uncut at either end. 
3. Heat about 1cm/1/2in light olive oil or canola oil in a deep sided pan. Place the eggplants in the oil and shallow fry quickly on both sides until they are softened and have a light brown color, for about 3-5 minutes. Place paper towel on a tray and transfer these eggplants there; the paper towel will absorb the excess olive oil.
4. Now let’s prepare the filling. Stir in the sliced onions and garlic in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, dried mint, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Knead this mixture with your hands for the dried mint and seasoning to blend well (this will also help the onions to soften). Stir in the tomatoes and parsley to the mixture and combine well.
5. Lift the eggplants to a chopping board and open up the split in the middle to create pockets. Spoon the mixture into these eggplant pockets, packing it in tightly so that all of the filling is used up (if you have any left over filling, I would simply cook them in the same pan next to these eggplant pockets).
6. Place the stuffed eggplants side by side in a wide, heavy pan. Mix the remaining olive oil with ½ cup water, lemon juice and sugar and pour it over the eggplants.
7. Cover the pan with a lid and place over a medium heat to get the oil hot and create some steam. Once the cooking liquid is hot, cook the eggplants for about 45-50 minutes. Once cooked, they should be soft and tender, with a little of cooking liquid left in the bottom of the pan.
8. Leave the eggplants to cool and rest in the pan for the flavors to settle, then carefully transfer them to a serving dish and spoon the oil from the pan over the eggplants. Serve at room temperature or cold, with a wedge of lemon aside and extra garnish of parsley over them.