The Sultan Swooned

Imam mise

When I was a teenager my mother found a recipe for a Turkish dish call Imam Bayildi, which translates to the sultan swooned (or fainted). There are a few versions of the legend of the name from the Imam fainted with pleasure at the taste of this dish, another claims that the sultan was married to a wealthy man’s daughter and part of her dowry was several huge urns of the finest olive oil. She made him this dish, and he liked it so much he asked her to make it every day, and she did for twelve days, on the thirteenth day when she didn’t make the dish he demanded to know why. When she told him she had used up all the oil from her dowry he fainted.

If you’ve ever cooked with eggplant you know it’s a sponge and will soak up oil like crazy, but for this dish you don’t really need tons of oil because you’re not frying it. I had a very specific memory of the dish, and none of the recipes I came across in my search sounded like what I recalled. So I went ahead and made my own version. Most notable was that almost every recipe used a different technique for cooking the eggplant, some included frying it, others didn’t, many were vague and confusing. I decided on a method that didn’t fry the eggplants, though some sautéing happened. I also added currants, which none of the recipes I saw included, but factored in my memory of the dish. Purists may not find this recipe authentic, and if you are one I apologize for playing fast and loose with it.

This dish is similar to Italian caponata. It is a little sweet, from the onions and some sugar, and a bit sour, from the lemon juice. I asked Rachel if she felt the currants were problematic, but she said she wouldn’t like the dish as much without them. (She has a much more sophisticated palate that I do.) So I present the dish to you with the rogue currants is all it’s deliciousness.

Imam Bayildi

Print recipe

Serves	2
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	2 hours
Total time	2 hours, 30 minutes
Dietary	Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Main Dish, Side Dish

Ingredients

2 Large Italian eggplants
2 Medium tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 Spanish or sweet onion (cut into thin slices and cut into thirds)
4 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup currants
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Step 1
Pre-heat oven to 400F. Lay the eggplants on their side, and make a slit down one side of each one, taking care not to cut through the skin on the opposite side of the eggplant Put the eggplants on a parchment lined baking sheet, slit side down, and roast for 40 minutes
Step 2
Remove eggplants and put them into a colander to let them drain until they are cool enough to handle While eggplants are cooling, heat three tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat Add onions to pan, and cook stirring often until onions are very soft, about ten minutes Add garlic and tomatoes and continue to cook for another ten minutes Add lemon juice and sugar, increase heat to medium high, and cook five more minutes Remove from heat
Step 3
Stir parsley and currants into tomato mixture. Open the eggplants and scoop out the flesh, taking care not to tear the skin as you'll be using it as a vessel for the vegetable mixture
Step 4
Chop eggplant flesh, and drain in a colander for five minutes Add eggplant to tomato mixture and stir to combine
Step 5
Put the eggplant 'shells' back on the baking sheet, opened to create four bowls Spoon the mixture into the eggplants Drizzle the each eggplant half with remaining olive oil Lower oven temperature to 300F Bake for one hour Serve with bread or basmati rice