Imam Bayildi - Traditional Eggplant and Tomato Stew

This recipe is a childhood favourite of mine. It’s a traditional Bulgarian dish called Imam Bayildi. It is a vegetable eggplant-based stew. As the name suggests, its origin is Turkish – the truth is that all Balkan cuisines are heavily influenced by the old Ottoman cuisine, due to the region having been part of the Ottoman empire for centuries on end.

There’s a curious story – or a legend, if you will – behind this dish. Well, there are many versions of the story, but this is my favourite one:

Once upon a time an imam (the man leading prayer in the mosque) visited an old and poor Bulgarian woman at her house. The woman, anxious that such an important man was visiting her and worried that she had little for him to dine on, went to her garden and looked around – all she had were eggplants and tomatoes and herbs, so this was what she used to make her stew. Still, the imam loved the dish so much that he stuffed himself full with it and swooned (bayildi) in the end. So the closest translation of the name is “The Imam swooned” (because it was so delicious.)

So, here is the recipe itself. Have in mind that for the best result you will need a large earthen pot.

Ingredients

4-5 average eggplants – around 1,2kg

1,2 kg tomatoes

3 average onions

1 green pepper
1 red pepper

10-12 cloves of garlic

3-4 carrots

2-3 average potatoes

150ml olive oil

2 tea spoons paprika

Salt

Black pepper

A few leaves of basil or parsley

Instructions:

0. Before we talk about the recipe itself, I want to give a short explanation/instruction about the preparation of the eggplants. The eggplants in their raw state are usually full of juice that is quite bitter. Cutting them and using them directly in a dish adds that bitterness to it, so beforehand we need to get rid of it – and we do so by using salt. Cut the eggplants, place them in a bowl, then salt them very well. Mix them with your hands then set them aside for at least half an hour. I strongly recommend doing this step before you start preparing all the other vegetables. After a while you’ll notice that the salt has drawn black, bitter juice out of the pieces, which is gathering at the bottom of the bowl. When you are ready to use the eggplants gently squeeze the pieces then wash off the salt. Have in mind that the flesh of the vegetable has already become quite salty and you need to take this into consideration when seasoning the dish!

1. Remove the stems of the eggplants and cut them into large cubes, then leave them in a large bowl and salt them well to draw out their bitter juice. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds, then peel them and cut them into pieces. Peel and cut the potatoes. Peel and cut the onion into small pieces. Peel and slice the carrots. Remove the seeds of the peppers and cut them into pieces. Peel the garlic cloves. If they’re large, cut them in half.

2. Sautee the onion, peppers and carrots in a small pot with a 100ml of the olive oil. Add the paprika and wait for about 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes. Let everything them boil a bit on low heat until they are half done. Towards the end add the potatoes so they boil only for 2-3 minutes. Place the mixture in the earthen pot. Place the rest of the tomatoes, olive oil and the well-squeezed pieces of eggplant in the metal pot and boil them on low heat until the latter soften. Stir gently with a spoon (I recommend using a wooden one) so as not to damage the pieces of eggplant.

3. Pour the rest of the tomatoes and the eggplants in the earthen pot. If you find the mixture to be too thick, add around 150ml of water. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper (have in mind that the eggplants themselves have already been very well-salted!) mix well with a spoon, place the lid on and put the pot in a cold oven. Turn it up to 190C and let it bake for about 40mins.

4. Cut the basil or parsley in small pieces and sprinkle it on the dish before serving. You can also add a piece of feta cheese. The Imam Bayildi can be served either hot or cool.

The truth is, you can prepare the whole dish on the stove without using an oven or an earthen pot by simply letting all the vegetables boil together until they are done. However, using a stove and an earthen pot considerably improves the taste and texture of the ingredients – all the vegetables remain whole while gaining a lovely silken texture and aren’t mushy at all. The dish itself looks gorgeous in the pot and on special occasions can be served whole on the table.

This recipe is a collaboration between Vkusen Svyat and myself.

Potatoes and Fish

For today’s recipe I decided to try something which, I am sure, most of you are quite familiar with, though this particular version of the dish is one of the many ways in which we prepare potatoes and fish in this area of the world.

Ingredients:

2kg potatoes

1kg  fish (carp)

5-6 cloves of garlic

40ml vegetable or sunflower seeds oil

100g butter

One large lemon

150ml water

200ml white cooking wine

Savory

Black pepper

Salt

Instructions:

1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1/2cm slices and place them into a bowl of water. Remove the scales and the fins of the fish and divide it in 1-1,5cm thick cutlets. Peel the cloves of garlic and blend them into a paste with the vegetable or sunflower seeds and a pinch of salt. Marinade the fish with the garlic and oil mixture for 2-3 hours.

2. Place the potatoes in a suitable baking dish. Heat up the butter until it has turned liquid (but don’t brown it) and pour it over the potatoes. Add the water. Season them with the savory, the black pepper and the salt. Mix everything well. Place them a pre-heated 200 degree Celsius oven and bake them until they are almost tender.

3. Once the potatoes are almost cooked through, place the fish on top of them. Juice the lemon and pour the juice over the fish, then add the cooking wine. Place a thin slice of butter on each fish cutlet. Bake until the fish is tender (make sure not to overcook it – fish takes very little time to bake) and the potatoes have turned golden brown. Serve with a glass of white wine! Bon Appétit! 

Bulgarian Herbs and Spices - Savory

Since I intend this blog to focus on Bulgarian cuisine, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to talk a bit about popular Bulgarian herbs and spices.

Today I decided tell you about a herb called savory. You might have heard of it – you might have not – but I can assure you that any dish flavored with it will have a lovely taste and aroma.

Savory is an annual plant with lilac tubular flowers that bloom in the northern hemisphere from July until September. It favors bright light, but is very forgiving as far as soil is concerned. In case you wish to grow your own savory I recommend buying seedlings, because the seeds are tiny and difficult to handle.

The fresh savory leaves contain large quantities of vitamin C and carotene, in case you’re wondering whether it’s good for you or not. Herbalists also use them to treat high blood pressure, headaches, vertigo, indigestion and common colds.

As a herb savory has a pleasant if strong (though not pungent) aroma and a slightly peppery taste. It is suitable for flavoring all sorts of dishes – from beans, lentils, cabbage and potatoes, to cheese, all sorts of meats, minced meat and eggs. It is immensely suitable for foods that are difficult to digest, such as beans, lentils and peas. Most Bulgarians can’t imagine beans without savory, as it suppresses any unfortunate bloating provoked by that particular ingredient. Personally, I use savory in anything and everything we cook - it is an incredibly versatile herb that can lift the flavor and aroma of any almost any dish. An ancient Roman favorite, in the Middle Ages savory was even used to flavor desserts.

Savory can be used both fresh and dried. The dried version is an ingredient in another extremely popular in Bulgarian herb and spice mixture called “colorful salt”. It usually contains salt, savory, hot and/or sweet paprika, ground black pepper, fenugreek and thyme in any and all combinations that you can think of, with only the savory as a base. Indeed, the colorful salt might not actually even contain salt at all!

As a matter of fact, colorful salt or even dried savory alone sprinkled on a slice of fresh, warm bread covered with butter is a popular light snack at any time of the day. I will give a more precise recipe for the colorful salt once I have also talked a little about fenugreek, as it is another popular but local Bulgarian herb that requires, I think, a little explanation before usage.

Bulgarian Potato Moussaka

Moussaka is a traditional Balkan and Mediterranean dish, although the different regions (and countries) have different takes on it. Here I am offering you a recipe for the traditional Bulgarian potato moussaka.

Ingredients:

1kg potatoes

1kg fresh tomatoes or 800g canned chopped tomatoes

700g minced meat (turkey or a mix of beef and pork, beef alone is far too lean)

3 large onions

2 carrots

100ml vegetable or sunflower seed oil       

150ml water

1 tablespoon of paprika

Black pepper

Parsley or basil

Salt

For the crust

2 large eggs

400g unflavoured Greek yoghurt

3 tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Directions:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1cm cubes. Peel and chop the onions and the carrots to small pieces. If you

are using fresh tomatoes submerge them in boiling water for a 10-15 seconds, then peel them and cut them into small pieces. Chop the parsley or basil.

2. In a large pan sautee the chopped onions in the oil until they turn translucent. Add the carrots. Sautee them together until the carrots soften a little. Add the minced meat and fry it until it falls apart in small pieces. Season with the salt and black pepper to taste.

3. Clear a small space on the bottom of the pan and add the paprika. Let the paprika fry for less than a minute (do not overfry as it will turn bitter!). Mix it with the rest of the ingredients and quickly add the tomatoes. Put the lid on the pan and let the mixture boil for another 10-15 minutes.

4. In a separate bowl mix well the eggs, flour and the Greek yoghurt.

5. Pour the tomato and minced meat mixture in a suitable baking dish. Add the chopped potatoes. Sprinkle the basil or the parsley. Mix well. Add the water. Bake in a preheated 200 degree Celsius oven until the potatoes have cooked through and the mixture has a nice thin crust on top of it.

6. Right before you pour mixture of eggs, yoghurt and flour, add the teaspoon of baking soda to it. Mix well. Pour the mixture over the already baked potatoes. Bake until the top is golden to golden brown.

Serve with each portion several spoons of thick Greek yoghurt or sour cream.