There is an eggplant dish, Turkish in origin, called Imam Bayildi.An overrated bit of food, in HG’s opinion. Essentially, you scoop out the soft interior of a long roasted eggplant. Mash it with tomatoes, onions, etc. Blanch the exterior of the eggplant. Recompose the eggplant into round or oval slices and bake them in the oven. Is it worth all the bother? No. HG will stick with the much simpler Baba Ghanoush. “Imam Bayildi,” roughly translated from Turkish, means “the Imam fainted.” Culinary lore has it that that a Turkish Imam passed out with delight when he first tasted this dish.
HG’s commentary: This must have been a very austere Imam leading a very monastic life in the desert. A more legitimate treat (sex, for example) would have killed him. 