Baked Eggplant With Tomatoes - Melitzanes Imam

Eggplant boats topped with chunky fresh tomato sauce that's loaded with onions and garlic. This traditional Greek dish is very easy to make using fresh ingredients.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 cup olive oil ((for the eggplants))
• + a splash of olive oil ((for the sauce))
• 1 large red onion (cut into slices)
• 8 garlic cloves (cut into chunky bits)
• 3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes (cut into 2cm / 1-inch pieces)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• a handful fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• kosher salt + freshly ground pepper

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Remove the tops and bottoms of the eggplants. Cut them in half lengthwise to create eggplant boats.
2. 2Place the eggplants in a big bowl with cold water and soak them for 30 minutes. You may place a plate on top to weigh them down. The soaking helps remove the bitter flavor from eggplants skin.
3. 3Preheat oven to 230°C / 446°F.
4. 4Drain the eggplants and place in a casserole dish. Score them with a knife creating deep criss-cross lines to help the eggplants bake well in the center. Take the 1 cup of olive oil and using a spoon, add spoonfuls of the oil on each eggplant.
5. 5Season the eggplants with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. 6Bake for 30 minutes until nicely roasted on top. Meanwhile, start preparing the tomato sauce.
7. 7Heat the splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion slices and cook until completely softened.
8. 8Stir in the tomatoes and season with some kosher salt, ground pepper, and ground nutmeg. Cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to drain and become mushy. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more stirring occasionally.
9. 9Using a fork press the eggplants a bit to make some space for the sauce to sit on. Add spoonfuls of the sauce on the eggplant boats. Reduce heat to 160°C / 320°F and slow-cook the eggplants for about 35 minutes. Then raise the temperature again to 200°C / 392°F and roast the eggplants for about 10-15 minutes more.
10. 10Serve with chopped fresh parsley on top.