You’ll faint over this delicious Imam Bayildi recipe.
Imam Bayildi is a classic Greek recipe for eggplants stuffed with savory tomatoes, onions and spices. According to Gastronomos, the recipe is of Roman origin. It traveled through the empire to Asia Minor where the Greeks incorporated it into the cuisine. The translation means “the imam fainted,” of course because this combo of tender eggplants and savory tomatoes tastes so incredibly delicious. It’s a Turkish name because that was the official language of the time. (The Greeks were not permitted to write their language or practice religion during the Ottoman occupation.) This is my go-to dish for both a relatively easy weeknight vegetarian meal, and as a show-stopping meatless marvel at my pop-up dinners. It packs so much flavor, is gorgeous, and incredibly stunning. My Los Angeles personal chef clients absolutely love it.
Imam Bayildi tips
Many traditional recipes call for cooking the eggplants whole. However, it always made more sense to me to halve them, scoop out the flesh and incorporate that into the rest of the filling. That said, when you’re cutting out the middle of the eggplant make sure to leave enough of a lip — at least 1/4 to 1/3 inch — so the shell remains sturdy enough to hold the filling. Once you brush it with olive oil and roast it, it will become luscious and tender. Make sure to be liberal with olive oil in this dish. This recipe is one of Greece’s famous Ladera dishes, meaning that they are saturated in “lathi” olive oil.
When to make Imam Bayildi
This dish is best made in summer when eggplants and tomatoes are at their peak. If you can’t find decent fresh tomatoes, you could use canned/canned crushed tomatoes for the filling. I love using baby heirloom tomatoes, like the ones I received from Melissa’s Produce, because they are sweet and tasty all year round.
Easy vegan adaptation
This vegetarian wonder is mostly vegan. You don’t have to top the eggplants with Feta cheese. If you need another element, I would use toasted pine nuts right at the end for garnish along with fresh herbs like parsley or mint.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup Feta cheese
- Chopped parsley or mint for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
- Cut eggplants in half. Scoop out the middle, leaving a 1/4- to 1/3-inch edge around the eggplant. Reserve the flesh.
- Brush eggplants all over with olive oil. Be very liberal with the olive oil. Eggplants will soak it up. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt inside the eggplant halves.
- Roast eggplants for 20 minutes. Chop up the reserved eggplant flesh.
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil for 5 minutes with the rest of the salt and pepper.
- Add in the eggplant flesh, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan.
- Distribute the filling equally among the eggplant halves, and top with crumbled Feta cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with additional Feta, chopped fresh herbs like parsley or mint.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Imam Bayildi Recipe
Serves: 4 servings
| Amount Per Serving: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 443.89 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 32.24 g | 49.2% | |
| Saturated Fat 6.76 g | 30% | |
| Trans Fat 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol 16.69 mg | 5.3% | |
| Sodium 697.41 mg | 29% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 36.38 g | 12% | |
| Dietary Fiber 14.16 g | 56% | |
| Sugars 20.58 g | ||
| Protein 8.95 g | ||
| Vitamin A 14.29 % | Vitamin C 50.79 % | |
| Calcium 18.29 % | Iron 15.15 % | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Sweet Greek Personal Chef and Culinary Services Los Angeles, CA
The story behind this dish is: in ancient times an oil merchants daughter was married to an Imam. As part of her dowery, her father included 30 jars of the best olive oil. The jars were large enough for her to fit in. For the wedding banquet she prepared a dish of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and olive oil. Th Imani, so pleased with the dish, told his wife that she must make it every night. For the following 29 nights the Imam feasted on his new favorite meal. However, on the 31st night the eggplant that he loved so much failed to appear. “WIFE,where is my eggplant?” “Husband”, she replied, “you will need to get more olive oil as the 30 jars are empty.” Hearing how much oil had been used in only 30 days, he promptly fainted from shock. Imam Beyildi
Thanks so much for that! There are so many wonderful versions of this story. I liked hearing this one.
The opening line of this post says “ Imam Bayildi is a classic Greek recipe”.
With respect, I was born in Egypt of a Greek mother and a father who was half Palestinian and half English so I am very familiar with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking.
This is a classic Turkish dish so please respect a dishes heritage. Thanks.
Thanks for your comment, Derek. With respect, this dish was from Ottoman times, which I mention. Turkey didn’t exist until 1923. Up until the genocide of the Greeks in the region and subsequent population exchange in 1922, that area of the world was the home to around a million Greek speaking Greek Orthodox people. This dish existed prior to 1922 and was brought to present-day Greece by the Greek refugees of that region.
Boom!
They use this name on My Greek Table- food network and she grew up in Greece.
I love this dish whenever I visit Turkey. I was surprised to see the author say it is Greek
It’s a long and connected history between the two cultures. I try not to focus on “who owns a recipe” as people get very sensitive to it. I just added more of an explanation to the origins in the first paragraph. Gastronomos, a Greek cooking magazine, says that the dish is actually of Roman origin and traveled through the empire to Asia Minor, where it was adopted by Greek chefs. Constantinople/Istanbul was part of the Roman empire long before the Ottomans/Turkish people inhabited it. You can read/translate that here: https://www.gastronomos.gr/topikes-kouzines/imam-mpailnti-to-thryliko-fagito-ton-romion-tis-polis-me-to-toyrkiko-onoma/146306/
No matter where it came from, it’s an incredibly delicious and healthy recipe.