It’s known as the ‘poor man’s meat’, but I prefer to think of aubergine as the ‘vegetarian’s rich treat’
Yotam Ottolenghi
Aubergines are known as “poor man’s meat”, but I prefer to think of them as “vegetarian’s rich treat”, especially when you crave something hearty and “meaty” but don’t want to eat actual meat. The Turkish imam who, legend has it, fainted with pleasure after tasting a stew of aubergines and other vegetables would certainly agree. The dish in question, imam bayildi (which translates as “the imam fainted”), has gone on to be a classic of Turkish cuisine, as has the 17th-century Ottoman sultan’s treat of smoked aubergine puree topped with diced stewed lamb or lamb meatballs, or hünkar begendi (“sultan’s delight”). I, for one, feel exactly the same way. Best eaten the day after it’s made, and served at room temperature. I don’t routinely salt aubergines (modern varieties tend not to be bitter, which is what salting was designed to counter), but in this case I do because it’s a time-honoured way to ensure they’re properly seasoned. Serve with Turkish (or other soft white) bread, to mop up the juices, and Greek yoghurt. Serves four.Imam bayildi
4 aubergines, long, slim ones, ideally Shave long, alternate strips of peel off the aubergines, top to bottom, so they end up striped, like zebras. Starting 2cm from the top, make an incision halfway into the flesh and cut down to 2cm shy of the bottom. Put the aubergines in a large bowl and cover with two and a half litres of cold water. Squeeze in the lemon, drop in the skins and stir in two teaspoons of salt. Put a plate on top, to keep the aubergines immersed, and leave to soak for 45 minutes. Drain, then dry in a clean tea towel.
1 lemon, halved
Salt and black pepper
120ml olive oil
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red peppers, core and seeds removed, cut into long 1cm-wide strips
2 big garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
400g tinned tomatoes
½ tsp caster sugar
2 sprigs fresh oregano
¾ tsp dried oregano (Greek, ideally; or fresh oregano, picked and chopped)
Heat the oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high flame. Fry the aubergines for eight to 10 minutes (take care, because the oil may spit), turning regularly, until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from the pan, turn down the heat to medium-low, add the onion and peppers, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and spices, cook for a minute, then stir in the tomatoes, two tablespoons of water, the sugar, fresh oregano, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Turn the heat to low, put the aubergines on top of the veg, cover the pan and cook for 45 minutes, until the aubergines are steamed through.
In the meantime, heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Carefully lift out the cooked aubergines and place them cut side up in a 20cm x 30cm ceramic baking dish; they should be nice and snug. Prise open the aubergines, so they look like long canoes, then sprinkle the insides with a generous pinch of salt. Discard the oregano from the sauce, then spoon it into the aubergines, filling them as much as you can; don’t worry if some sauce spills out around them – it’s kind of unavoidable. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and leave the aubergines to cool to room temperature. Serve topped with a sprinkling of dried oregano.
Roast aubergine with almond tarator and basil oil
This is by no means a classic Turkish recipe, but tarator – a thick garlic and nut sauce – features across the country. Serves six to eight.
1 whole head of garlic
110ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
3 large aubergines
60g crustless sourdough, torn into 3cm pieces and soaked in 200ml water for a few minutes
100g blanched almonds, toasted
5 anchovies, rinsed and patted dry
1 tbsp good sherry vinegar
3 plum tomatoes
For the herb oil
10g basil leaves, plus 5g extra small leaves to serve
10g parsley leaves
1 green chilli, deseeded
60ml olive oil
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Cut off and discard the top quarter of the head of garlic, so the cloves are exposed. Place the garlic on a large square of aluminium foil, drizzle over a teaspoon of oil and add a pinch of salt. Wrap up the garlic in the foil and roast for 40 minutes, until soft and caramelised. Remove and, once cool enough to handle, squeeze the flesh out of the skins into a small bowl. Cut the aubergines in half widthways, and then again lengthways into 3-4cm-wide wedges. Put these in a large bowl and mix with 75ml oil, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Put the aubergine wedges skin side down on two large parchment-lined baking trays and roast for 35 minutes, until cooked through and the flesh is a dark golden-brown. Remove and set aside to cool. Blitz all the herb oil ingredients with a third of a teaspoon of salt, until smooth. Squeeze the sourdough over a bowl, to reserve the soaking water, then put it in a food processor with the almonds, anchovies, roast garlic flesh, vinegar, the remaining two tablespoons of oil, 100ml of the soaking water, a third of a teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Blitz smooth and set aside. Divide the aubergine wedges between individual plates, or arrange them on one platter, and spoon almond sauce on top. Roughly grate the tomatoes over the aubergines (discard the skin), then drizzle over the herb oil, sprinkle with the baby basil leaves and serve.Hünkar begendi
If it’s good enough for an Ottoman sultan, it’s certainly good enough for me. Serves four. 750g lamb leg, cut into 3cm dice
50g plain flour
Salt and black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced 1cm thick
2 green peppers, core and seeds removed, cut into long, 2cm-wide strips
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1½ tbsp tomato paste
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
180ml chicken stock
3 aubergines, pricked in several places with a sharp knife
50g unsalted butter
350ml whole milk
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
20g kashkaval (or pecorino), coarsely grated
5g parsley, finely chopped
Mix the lamb in a large bowl with a tablespoon of the flour, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. On a high flame, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy-based casserole for which you have a lid. Sear the lamb, in batches if need be, for four minutes, turning regularly to brown it all over. Transfer to a bowl, turn the heat to medium-high and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Saute the onions and peppers for five minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, then add the garlic. Stir for a minute, add the tomato paste, cayenne, plum tomatoes, bay, cinnamon and stock, then return the meat to the pot. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for an hour and a half, until the lamb is very tender. Line the stove top with a big sheet of tin foil (make holes for the gas rings), then turn on three rings to a medium heat. Put an aubergine on top of each flame and roast for 15-18 minutes, turning occasionally, until the skin is burnt and the flesh soft and smoked. (Alternatively, heat the grill to its highest setting, put the aubergines on a foil-lined tray and grill for about an hour, turning every 20 minutes or so, until deflated and charred all over.) Once the aubergines are cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh and discard the skin. Roughly chop the flesh and put it in a colander to drain for 30 minutes.
Put a medium saucepan on a medium heat. Add the butter and, once it has melted, stir through the remaining 40g flour and cook for two minutes, until the roux is bubbling and slightly thickened. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously until smooth. Cook over a medium-low heat for four minutes, stirring, until thick. Remove from the heat, and add the nutmeg, cheese, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Stir in the aubergine pulp and half the parsley, then divide between four shallow bowls and top with the hot lamb and sauce. Sprinkle over the last of the parsley and serve. • Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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