Imam Baildi, Baked Eggplants Stuffed with Onion and Tomato

What you need

• 6 small eggplants, about 250 g (9 oz) each
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) olive oil, divided
• 3 large onions, cut into thin half-moons
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 500 g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 15 g (1/2 oz) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) hot water
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Peel the eggplants lengthwise in stripes, leaving alternate strips of skin. Salt them generously and leave 30 min to draw out moisture, then rinse and pat dry.

2. 2

   Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

3. 3

   Warm 4 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the eggplants, turning them, until browned all over and beginning to soften, 8-10 min.

4. 4

   Move the eggplants to a baking dish just big enough to hold them in one layer.

5. 5

   Add 3 tbsp of the remaining oil to the same pan. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring often, until soft and sweet but barely colored, 12-15 min.

6. 6

   Add the garlic and cook 1 min. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, and simmer until thick, 8-10 min. Take off the heat and stir in the parsley.

7. 7

   Cut a deep lengthwise slit in each eggplant, leaving 2 cm (3/4 in) intact at both ends, and press the cut open to make a pocket.

8. 8

   Stuff the pockets with the onion and tomato mixture, mounding it generously.

9. 9

   Stir the tomato paste into the hot water with a pinch of salt and pour it around the eggplants. It should come about a third of the way up their sides.

10. 10

    Drizzle the remaining oil over the top. Cover tightly with foil.

11. 11

    Bake 40 min, then remove the foil and bake until the eggplants are completely soft and the liquid has reduced to a glossy sauce, 15-20 min.

12. 12

    Cool to room temperature, spoon the pan juices over and serve.

Imported from vidarbergum.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.