P
Turkish
İmam Bayıldı
A classic Ottoman-Turkish dish of whole aubergines split and braised until completely collapsed in an aromatic filling of slowly caramelised onions, garlic, and tomatoes cooked in generous olive oil — the name means 'the imam fainted', variously attributed to the imam fainting with pleasure at the dish or with horror at the quantity of olive oil used. The technique depends on low, patient cooking: the aubergines are first salted and drained to remove bitterness and excess moisture, then partly fried in olive oil before being stuffed and braised in a covered pan with additional olive oil until they become yielding and almost translucent. The dish is served at room temperature, never hot, which allows the olive oil and tomato juices to consolidate into a silky, savoury basting liquid.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4
aubergines
medium, uniform in size
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150–200 ml
olive oil
extra-virgin, plus more for frying
Your own market
For the filling
500 g
onions
finely sliced
Your own market
4
garlic cloves
finely sliced
Your own market
400 g
1 pinch
sugar
Your own market
1 tsp
fine salt
plus extra for salting aubergines
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Slit each aubergine lengthwise along one side, leaving the stem intact. Salt the cut surface and interior generously, place the aubergines in a colander, and press them under a weighted plate for a minimum of 30 minutes. Drain and pat firmly dry with kitchen paper. The flesh will have released a significant quantity of dark liquid; this is the correct result.
2
Warm a generous film of olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Fry the aubergines, turning, until the skin blisters and the flesh begins to colour at the edges. Remove and set aside. The aubergines should feel slightly softened when pressed but remain structurally intact.
3
In the same pan, add more olive oil and cook the sliced onions and garlic over low heat for a minimum of 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. This step is where the dish lives or dies: the onions must collapse completely into a deep golden, sweet mass — pale or sharp onions will not sweeten further inside the aubergine and will ruin the filling.
4
Add the chopped tomatoes and the pinch of sugar to the caramelised onions. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the tomatoes soften and begin to lose their raw acidity but still retain some texture and body. The filling should smell sweet and savoury, not sharp.
5
Arrange the fried aubergines in a single layer in a wide, lidded braising pan. Open each slit and spoon the onion-tomato filling generously into the cavity. Pour 150–200 ml of olive oil over and around the aubergines so that they are almost poaching in the combined oil and tomato juices. Cover tightly.
6
Braise over the lowest possible heat until a knife inserted into the thickest part of each aubergine meets zero resistance. Visual colour cues are unreliable here as the aubergines braise covered; the knife test is the sole reliable doneness indicator. The flesh will appear almost translucent at the edges when correctly done.
7
Remove from the heat. Allow to cool in the pan, uncovered, for a minimum of 30 minutes. The dish is best made a day ahead: refrigerated overnight, the olive oil and tomato juices consolidate into a silky braising liquid. Serve at room temperature, never hot.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Single-estate Aegean extra-virgin olive oil — the dish's character is inseparable from its oil; a cold-pressed PDO oil from the Aegean coast honours the dish's documented regional identity. Aubergines from a specialist grower, harvested small and thin-skinned.
02
Estate — A quality Greek or Turkish extra-virgin olive oil with low acidity. Market aubergines selected for uniform medium size, firm flesh, and unblemished skin to ensure even braising.
03
Market — Any good-quality supermarket extra-virgin olive oil. Standard supermarket aubergines; tomatoes from a tin if fresh are out of season, drained of excess liquid before use.
04
House — Olive oil from a blended bottle; standard aubergines and tinned chopped tomatoes. The dish still functions provided the onion caramelisation and oil quantity are not compromised.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Aubergines yield a significant quantity of dark liquid after 30 minutes of salting and pressing — they are ready to dry and fry.
◇Smell. The onion and garlic filling smells deeply sweet, almost jammy, with no raw sharpness remaining — caramelisation is complete.
◇Smell. The tomatoes added to the filling smell savoury and rounded, not acidic or sharp — they retain texture and have not over-reduced.
◇Touch. A knife inserted into the thickest part of the braised aubergine meets zero resistance — the single reliable indicator that braising is complete.
◇Where it lives or dies. The onions must cook for a minimum of 25 minutes until completely collapsed and deeply sweet — under-caramelised filling cannot recover inside the aubergine and will render the dish harsh rather than savoury.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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