Grilled Chicken Topped w/ Skillet Style Imam Bayildi - Low Carb Turkish Cuisine

This evening I was in the mood for something different. I grew up eating a variety of different cuisines. One of my father's favorites was a Turkish eggplant dish called Imam Bayildi (translated to mean the priest fainted) which can be served as either an appetizer or as an accompaniment to a meal. In the traditional version, eggplant is stuffed with onions, tomatoes, garlic and other seasonings and simmered over low heat for a long period of time. It's usually served either at room temperature or chilled. The eggplant and veggies are cooked until they are melt in your mouth tender and sweet in a liberal amount of olive oil. It is absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, it is a dish that can take upwards of a couple of hours or more to prepare...and who really has time for that these days; I know I don't. Don't get me wrong, if you have the time, it is totally worth it. I decided to put my own spin on it where I captured all the flavors but with a much more realistic preparation time. I made my own version of Skillet Style Imam Bayildi that only takes about 30 to 35 minutes total from "skillet to table."

This evening, I used it as a side dish served on top of grilled boneless chicken breasts that I spritzed with olive oil and seasoned liberally with Turkish Seasoning (from Penzey's Spices). I let the Imam Bayildi cool to room temperature while the chicken was grilling. It turned out absolutely amazing to say the least. If you like ratatouille (which I do)...you will love this, too. It's simple, fresh and a perfect dish to use up your summer veggies. My simple recipe is below as well as a few photos of this delicious and gorgeous meal that captures the essence of summer from the grilled chicken to the bounty of summer veggies. The eggplants I used were so young and tender that they didn't have any seeds and were especially sweet. I also used the variety of fresh colorful tomatoes (red, orange, yellow, and purple) that I had on hand which made this dish particularly colorful. Enjoy!

I seasoned the chicken with olive oil and Turkish Seasoning

Skillet Style Imam Bayildi

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced (I used a sweet Vidalia onion)
4 small to medium eggplants, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes, divided (I used a mixture of roma and grape tomatoes)
2 teaspoons Swerve sweetener (or other sweetener equivalent to 2 teaspoons sugar)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet with lid. Add onions and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant, garlic and 1 more tablespoon oil; cook, stirring frequently for a few minutes until lightly coated with oil. Add 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup water and cover skillet. Cook covered until eggplant is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Add remaining 1 cup diced tomatoes and sweetener. Season liberally with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon oil, parsley and lemon juice. Cook uncovered about 5 minutes until thickened and excess liquid has cooked off (it should not be watery). Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

*Note: When I add eggplant to any dish, I usually remove every other strip of skin with a paring knife or vegetable peeler (it looks striped before I cut or dice it) to reduce the amount of skin by about half. You can choose to leave all of it if preferred.