Day 34 - April 18, 2016 - Papoutsakia a.k.a. Imam Bayildi: Eggplant at its best! (Originally Posted on March 20, 2012).

(Today's entry is a very popular post which was originally published on March 20, 2012. Everyone in our family loves Imam Bayaldi and understand why this recipe is so well liked by our readers).

Papoutsakia is a cute Greek word that means "little shoes."  It is the name of a food that is one you either love or hate.  I don't know many people who think that eggplant is just okay.  Some of us love the strong, bitter taste of eggplant.  We don't mind the soft, almost slimy texture of cooked eggplant, whereas others may find that same texture offensive.  There are some substitutes for eggplant in different dishes.  For example, you may want to use zucchini  instead of eggplant to make moussaka.  With the addition of a layer of potatoes, the different vegetable is barely noticeable.  

If you are one of the people who are unsure about how much you like or do not like eggplant, you may want to try a different type or variety.  There are several varieties that are readily available in the market, including the long, Chinese eggplant, the white eggplant, the stout Italian eggplant, or the typical, oval-shaped black eggplant.  Each one has a different level of bitterness, and offers a little variety in overall flavour and colour to a dish.

Today, we have chosen to use the long, slender Chinese eggplant.  These are, in our opinion, the closest  resemblance to a shoe -- and for making a dish that is called "little shoes," we thought this would be most appropriate.  Also, we have found that these are less bitter than the large, black eggplants.  So, what is the story of papoutsakia, exactly?

Traditionally, this dish includes a meat filling and a cheese topping.  Some may describe it as individual moussaka because of the similar ingredients (meat, cheese, eggplant...)  Obviously, we are abstaining from both meat and cheese, so we have decided to simply omit them from the recipe.  But, how could this be the same dish?  Well, that's easy.  There is another dish, that is the vegetarian version of papoutsakia, known as Imam Bayildi.  There is no meat and there is no cheese in the recipe, therefore making the dish completely appropriate for Great Lent and any fasting time.  We chose to use the Greek name instead of the Turkish because we are Greek-proud.  The name Imam Bayildi means "the imam (Muslim cleric) fainted."  Some folk lore states that the priest had fainted from his shock of the amount of olive oil used in this dish.  Some say that the priest wept instead of fainted.  Either way, the common factor in the two dishes is that there is  a lot of oil used here.

We chose to follow the recipe from the superb coobook by Susanna Hoffman The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking.  This is the first time we are making this dish from this cookbook.  There have been many times that we have made this dish from memory, from other cookbooks, but we are always looking to improve and perfect our techniques and recipes, so we wanted to try this one.  As mentioned, we have simply omitted the meat and cheese from this recipe.  

This is a lengthy process, so be prepared to spend an hour getting all of the ingredients ready.  To feed 6 people, you will need the following: 3 medium eggplants (we have 6 small), 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 medium onions sliced finely (we used both red and white onions for the sweet and colourful combination), 10 to 12 garlic cloves, chopped, 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, 2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, some ground black pepper to taste, 1 cup dry red wine (we use whatever bottle of dry red wine that we are drinking at the time).

First, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise.  (we also cut ours to make the pieces shorter, so they were easier to handle in the pan and in the baking dish; and this gave us more pieces to feed the whole family!)

Scoop out the center of each half, leaving a thin layer on the skin.  Keep the scooped parts!  (this was not easy -- we tried a melon baller to scoop and a knife to cut out the flesh; they were equally difficult)

Chop the scooped eggplant pulp.  (we believe that this is easier with big eggplants, but the slender ones still worked fine).

Next, heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large pan.  Cook the onions and garlic until they are soft.  

Add the eggplant pulp, tomato paste, oregano, salt, pepper, and wine.  Bring this to a boil.

Simmer the filling until the liquid is reduced by half -- about 45 minutes (for us, this took a little less time because we used a shallow frying pan and a little higher heat than just a simmer).

While that is cooking, heat another pan with the remaining1/4 cup of oil.  Fry the eggplant shells in the pan until they are brown on both sides and very soft. (about 10 minutes each side -- some took longer, some took a shorter time; we found that the more meat that was left on the skin fried nicer and looked better).

When they are done, line them in a baking dish so they are packed well with the cut side up.  Keep this to a single layer (we found that alternating the stem side helped to pack these into the baking dish).

Fill the eggplant shells with the onion mixture.  Pour any extra filling on top of the eggplants (there was not that much extra after actually filling the shells).

Pour some water around the eggplant until it reaches about 1/4 inch deep.  Do not cover the eggplants (just enough that the eggplants won't stick to the baking pan).

Bake in the oven at 350º F (about 175º C) for one hour until everything is soft and the filling is bubbling (and it will smell scrumptious!)

Serve hot, or cool completely in the refrigerator for an hour and serve cold.

So, what did we think about the recipe from The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking? This recipe from the book was easy enough to follow.  There are nice stories to go with the recipe, and a little history about almost every dish.  The steps are numbered to make it easy to identify.  We did find that the directions are clear, but we needed some more specific details about a few steps.  For example, the directions tell us to fry the eggplant shells until browned and wilted.  We found "browned" produced a result that was too well done, and "wilted" did not seem done enough, so we had to find the happy medium.  You can see by our photographs that the first few eggplant pieces were cooked until browned -- but they were outright crispy.  Then, as we got to the second batch, we went to "wilted" doneness, and that was okay, but the "meatier" shells looked raw.  So, we cooked the eggplant until the edges started to brown, and that seemed to be right.  Once we filled the eggplant shells with the vegetables, the baking dish looked full and plentiful.  However, we followed the directions and baked the pan for one hour and burned the top of the dish. This did not look appealing, but the flavour was delightful.  It was really just the natural caramelization of the tomato sauce that made the dark colour.  This is the same thing we were trying to avoid when cooking the filling -- that's why we stirred occasionally.  So, next time, we may bake it for less time or cover it with foil to prevent that dark colour.

Overall, we did like the information that this book offers about the history of a dish, or the tale or story that involves the food -- that's part of the charm of this cookbook that is fast becoming a family favourite. Its excellent research into obscure, but very important, texts that explain the origins of many Greek foods is greatly appreciated by us.  There is a lot to read and the pictures that are in this book are not just about the food, so that made the reading a little more interesting.  

We would use this book again for some classic recipes.  And, who knows, we may just make this recipe again -- maybe even with the meat and the cheese!

Source: http://orthodoxwiki.org/File:John_Cassian.jpg

"I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies... A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied."
(Source: http://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Cassian)