Dio’s Imam Biyaldi

This is a typical Greek dish (in common with Turkey) consisting of whole aubergine stuffed with tomatoes, onions and garlic simmered in olive oil. It is better served at room temperature or warm. But it is also delicious cold in the summer!

The legend (and name) says a Turkish imam passed out from pleasure after trying the dish (or maybe from eating to much of it!).

Ingredients

5 eggplant
2-3 onions
7-8 cloves garlic
3-4 tomatoes
4 peppers
100 ml olive oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
400 ml hot water
persil

Directions

Peel the skin off the eggplants in stripes. Cut them in two and spoon a little the inside. Put in salty water for about half an hour to draw out the bitterness. Dry them off and fry them in oil until the flesh changes to a golden color.
Chop, the onions, peppers and garlic as fine as possible and fry them in olive oil until they have softened.
Chop the tomatoes (peal them if you are in the mood!) and add them to the onion mixture together with the seasoning. Cook for about10 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the chopped persil.
Place the eggplants in an olive oiled oven tray. Fill the eggplants with the tomato mix and poor the rest around.
Cook in the oven for 45min.

Notes

Dumplings in the Dio

Course: Recipes

Making dumplings can be surprisingly easy! Especially since we have so many canned goods like sauerkraut and onion confit on the farm, they require little cook time.

Ingredients

Dumpling dough
Water
Flour
Salt
Eggplant and basil dumpling filling
Eggplant
Basil
Salt
Creamed chard dumpling filling
Chard
Butter
Heavy cream
Raisins
Sauerkraut and onion confit filling
Sauerkraut
Green onion confit

Directions

Dumpling dough
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add water while stirring to combine. Use a 4:1 ratio of flour to water. Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Form the dough into a ball and cover with a thin towel for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into two large pieces. Then, roll out each piece to make them long and thin. Cut these long pieces into 1/2 inch pieces. These are your dumplings.
Take a dumpling and roll it out until it is thin and forms a circle. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of the dumpling. Take two pieces on opposite ends of the dumpling and bring them together. Then pinch along the crease to close the gap.
To add detail, press a fork along the edge of the dumpling.
Eggplant and basil filling
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a pan. While that is cooking, chop eggplant and basil.
Place the eggplant and basil in the pan, and cover with olive oil
Sauerkraut and onion confit filling
Simply take the sauerkraut and onion confit from the can, mix them together, and place in the roll dumpling dough! It is also easy to substitute these canned goods for kimchi.
Creamed chard dumpling filling
Heat the butter, add the chard, cream and raisins and cook until wilted.
Cooking the dumplings
Fry in oil or boil in water.