Meat free Mondays, Mausoleums and Mosques….
Admin on Sep 14 2009 at 10:19 pm | Filed under: Culture, Food, History, Photographs, Savoury, Travel
This morning I had to take our daughter to the paediatrician which is conveniently situated right next to one of Rabats most well known landmarks. As we had some time to pass before our appointment we had a wander around the grounds of the Tour de Hassan before it got packed with people.
The two main structures are the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and the Tour de Hassan which has been towering over Rabat for the last 8 centuries. It was built by the then leader Yacoub el-Mansour in approx 1196. It was intended to part of one of the largest mosques in the Western world at the time but unfortunately was never completed as he died in 1199 and the unfinished mosque was abandoned. In 1755 almost the entire unfinished mosque was destroyed only leaving behind the minaret and parts of the pillars. The spectacular red colors of the minaret were stunning against the stormy skies.
Across from that the Mausoleum. This contains the tombs of the present Kings father, Hassan II, his grandfather, Mohammed V and Uncle, Prince Abdallah. It is a massive structure of exceptional craftsmanship, made of white Italian marble and lavish decorations.
So anyway, wandering around I was thinking what I was going to conjure up for dinner as part of Meat Free Monday at Food24…….and with all these images of unfinished mosques and holy men………what could be better than the Turkish dish, Imam Bayildi, which quite literally translates as “the Imam fainted”! Now as some legends go, the Imam swooned when he first tasted this delicious dish, others say he fainted from the cost of the olive oil used!
I have not followed the conventional cooking method for these, but rather pre-cooked the aubergine before scooping out the flesh and combining with the rest of the ingredients. I have also added red pepper for some extra vitamins. Still delicious and meat free!!
This will serve 2 hungry people…
First prepare the aubergine:
2 Medium sized aubergine, sliced horizontally in half
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lightly score the top of the aubergines, drizzle quite a bit of olive oil over and season well with olive.
Bake sliced side up down in a 200°C oven for 20 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
Leave to cool for a while before scooping out the flesh leaving some intact so as not to make the shells to floppy.
For the filling:
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes peeled and finely chopped
1 small red pepper finely chopped
Aubergine flesh from above
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
3 Tbs olive oil and extra for drizzling over the aubergines
Salt and black pepper
Heat the olive oil and fry the onions for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry over a medium heat until soft. Add a few drops of water if it dries out to fast.
Stuff the filling into the aubergine shells, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 200°C in the oven for 15 minutes.
I served this with a quick rice dish consisting of:
2 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of caramelized onions
Some mixed spices, cumin seeds, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon
3 Tbs Olive oil
Heat the olive oil and fry the spices for a minute or two, add the onions and fry for another few minutes. Add the rice and cook until heated through.
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
xxx
