Aubergine( eggplant) is the queen of vegetables and the meat of the poor, since due to its flavour and versatility it is the vegetable prized above all others in Turkish cuisine. What other vegetable when raw is bitter and inedible but when cooked, roasted or fried turns into a magical rich flavorful delightness. Particularly in the summer months its privileged status is unrivalled, both in regional cooking and in the haute cuisine of the cities. Aubergines are used in nearly two hundred different recipes; stews,dolmas sun dried or fresh, roasted in mezes and salads, pickles and even in jam!
In the past when the aubergine season arrived the constant frying and broiling of aubergines was held responsible for many of the fires which spread through Istanbul's neighbourhoods of wooden houses like a whirlwind in dry weather, and edicts were issued forbidding aubergines to be brought into Istanbul for sale.
This is a typical dish which you can find on both sides of the Aegean Cost, Turkey & Greece. Pabuc means shoe so you can guess why this dish is called Pabucaki. You can either roast or boil the eggplants. Boiling them helps to maintain the shape while roasting them gives that distinctive rich flavour. —Gamze Mutfakta (Piper Nigrum)
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