Chef Dimitra
Anginares a la Polita, Constantinople Artichokes (Αγκινάρες αλά Πολίτα)
Constantinople's spring artichokes, pale and lemony, braised with potato, carrot, peas, dill, and enough olive oil to make the sauce shine.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Politiko Imam Bayildi (Ιμάμ Μπαϊλντί)
Created by
Constantinople's Imam Bayildi is eggplant split open and filled with onions cooked down in olive oil, garlic, and tomato, then left to rest until soft, sweet, and glossy.
Main Dishes
Greek
Make Ahead
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
35 min
Active Time
1 hr 20 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield4 servings as a main, 6 as part of a table
Imam Bayildi is Politiki, from the Greek kitchen of Constantinople: split eggplants filled with onions, garlic, and tomato, cooked in olive oil until they nearly sigh apart. It belongs to the ladera, the oil-cooked dishes that fed fasting days and summer tables without apology. No meat is missing here. The eggplant is the body of the dish, and the oil is its sauce.
The onions must be cooked before they go inside. That's the whole truth of it. If you tuck them in raw, they steam in the eggplant and stay sharp. Cook them slowly in olive oil first, until they soften and sweeten, and the filling becomes silkier than its simple ingredients have any right to be.
Use ripe summer tomatoes if the calendar gives them to you. If not, good canned tomato is the honest choice. Serve the dish warm-room temperature with bread, never straight from the oven. In my Thessaloniki kitchen this is how the Politiki recipes announce themselves: cinnamon kept quiet, oil used generously, and patience doing most of the work.
Imam Bayildi entered the Greek record through the Ottoman and Constantinopolitan kitchen, where olive-oil vegetable dishes were central to both Muslim and Orthodox tables. The name means "the imam fainted," usually explained either by the richness of the olive oil or by the sweetness of the finished eggplant. In Greek Politiki cooking it became a nistisimo dish, suited to fasting days because it needs no dairy, eggs, or meat to feel complete.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
medium eggplants
Quantity
4, about 1kg total
fine sea salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons
divided
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
160ml
divided
yellow onions
Quantity
500g
thinly sliced
garlic cloves
Quantity
5
thinly sliced
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
450g
peeled and grated
canned crushed tomatoes (optional)
Quantity
400g
tomato paste
Quantity
1 tablespoon
sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
bay leaf
Quantity
1 small
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
25g
chopped
water
Quantity
120ml
red wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
country bread (optional)
Quantity
as needed
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium eggplants | 4, about 1kg total |
| fine sea saltdivided | 2 teaspoons |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oildivided | 160ml |
| yellow onionsthinly sliced | 500g |
| garlic clovesthinly sliced | 5 |
| ripe tomatoespeeled and grated | 450g |
| canned crushed tomatoes (optional) | 400g |
| tomato paste | 1 tablespoon |
| sugar (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| ground cinnamon | 1/2 teaspoon |
| bay leaf | 1 small |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 25g |
| water | 120ml |
| red wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon |
| country bread (optional)for serving | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •wide heavy saute pan, 28cm
- •medium baking dish, about 30 x 22cm
- •box grater for fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- 1
Salt the eggplants
Trim the eggplants but keep the stems attached. Peel three or four lengthwise strips from each one, leaving them striped, then cut a deep slit down the middle without cutting through the bottom. Sprinkle the slits and outside with 1 teaspoon salt and set them in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse briefly and pat very dry.
- 2
Soften the shells
Warm 80ml olive oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat. Add the eggplants and turn them gently for 10 to 12 minutes, until the skins shine and the flesh begins to give under a spoon. They don't need to collapse yet. Move them, slit side up, into a baking dish that holds them snugly.
- 3
Cook the onions
Add 60ml olive oil to the same pan, then add the onions and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are soft, pale gold, and sweet. This is the step that decides the dish: raw onion inside the eggplant stays sharp and watery, but onion melted first in oil becomes the filling Imam Bayildi is meant to have.
- 4
Build the filling
Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, just until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir until it darkens slightly. Add the grated tomatoes, sugar if needed, black pepper, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Simmer 10 minutes, until the tomato thickens and the oil begins to show at the edge. Remove the bay leaf and stir in most of the parsley, keeping a spoonful for the finish.
- 5
Stuff the eggplants
Open each eggplant gently with two spoons and fill the slit generously with the onion-tomato mixture. Spoon any extra filling around the sides. Mix the water with the vinegar and pour it into the dish, around the eggplants, not over the tops. Drizzle with the remaining 20ml olive oil.
- 6
Braise until soft
Bake uncovered at 180C for 45 to 55 minutes, basting the eggplants once or twice with the pan juices. They are ready when the flesh is fully soft, the filling has settled into the slit, and the oil glows green-gold around the tomato. If the pan dries before they soften, add a splash of hot water at the edge.
- 7
Rest and serve
Let the dish rest at least 45 minutes before serving. Imam Bayildi should be warm-room temperature, not hot from the oven, so the olive oil settles and the sweetness comes forward. Finish with the reserved parsley and serve with country bread for the juices.
Chef Tips
- •Choose eggplants that feel heavy for their size, with tight glossy skin and green stems. Old eggplants have more seed and bitterness, and no careful hand fixes that completely.
- •Don't be timid with the olive oil. Ladera are not vegetables misted with oil, they are vegetables cooked in it until the oil, tomato, and juices become the sauce.
- •Imam Bayildi is better after it rests, and often better the next day. Bring it back to room temperature before serving, because cold olive oil goes dull on the tongue.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook the full dish up to 2 days ahead, cool, cover, and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- •The onion-tomato filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, then spooned into the softened eggplants before baking.
- •Salt and dry the eggplants up to 2 hours ahead, but don't leave them sitting all day or the flesh darkens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 480g)
Calories
610 calories
Total Fat
39 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
33 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
1420 mg
Total Carbohydrates
59 g
Dietary Fiber
13 g
Sugars
21 g
Protein
10 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Ladera: Greek Olive-Oil Vegetable Mains
Browse the full collection
Chef Dimitra
Attica Gemista Orfana (Γεμιστά Ορφανά της Αττικής)
Attica gemista orfana are the summer tray of tomatoes and green peppers, rice loose with mint, dill, and parsley, baked with potatoes until the vegetables slump and sweeten.
Chef Dimitra
Bamies Laderes Peloponnisou (Μπάμιες Λαδερές Πελοποννήσου)
Peloponnesian bamies laderes are high-summer okra in tomato and olive oil, a nistisimo pot that depends on one small mercy: vinegar before the braise.
Chef Dimitra
Cycladic Briam (Κυκλαδίτικο Μπριάμ)
Cycladic briam is the summer tray of zucchini, potato, eggplant, tomato, and good olive oil, sliced thin and baked until the vegetables surrender into one sweet, red-gold pan.