Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki

Method10 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas 5. Wash and halve all three aubergines lengthways, score their flesh deeply without cutting through the skins, then brush the flesh generously with some of the extra olive oil. Put all six halves on a baking sheet.

   Uses 3 aubergines · Extra olive oil to brush all six scored aubergine halves

2. 2

   Step 2: Roast for twenty minutes, or until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out. Leave briefly until cool enough to handle, keeping the oven at the same temperature.

   Roast aubergines until scoopable · 20 minUses All six prepared aubergine halves

3. 3

   Step 3: Peel and finely chop the Spanish onion (1); peel and crush both garlic cloves (2). Heat the two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic and ground cinnamon (1 tsp) and fry for one minute. Once the roasted aubergines are safe to handle, scoop their centres out, keeping the flesh and all six hollow shells separately.

   Fry garlic and cinnamon after onion softens · 1 minUses All six roasted halves: scoop flesh, retain shells · 2 tbsp olive oil for onion filling · 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped in step 3 · 2 garlic cloves, crushed in step 3 · 1 tsp ground cinnamon

4. 4

   Step 4: Roughly chop the scooped cooked aubergine flesh and stir it into the softened onion mixture. Wash and peel all eight ripe tomatoes. Halve them, scoop their seeds and juice into a sieve over a bowl, then chop the tomato flesh. Let the juice drain through the sieve and keep this actual tomato juice for the later bake; hold the chopped flesh ready to add to the pan.

   Uses The cooked onion base and all scooped aubergine flesh; hold shells aside · 8 ripe tomatoes, peeled and separated into flesh and juice in step 4

5. 5

   Step 5: Add all the prepared chopped tomato flesh to the onion-and-aubergine pan. Cook for ten minutes until soft, adding a little of the extra olive oil only if necessary. Keep the collected tomato juice and hollow aubergine shells aside.

   Cook tomato and aubergine filling until soft · 10 minUses All onion-aubergine base and chopped tomato flesh; retain collected tomato juice for step 7 · A little extra olive oil only if the filling needs it

6. 6

   Step 6: Wash and chop the small bunch of flat-leaf parsley. Keep a little of the chopped parsley for the final garnish and stir the rest into the cooked tomato-and-aubergine filling.

   Uses All cooked filling · Most of the small bunch parsley for filling; keep a little for final scattering

7. 7

   Step 7: Lay all six hollow aubergine halves in a baking dish and divide the prepared filling between them. Pour the retained strained tomato juice into the dish and drizzle the stuffed halves with some extra olive oil. Bake at the same oven temperature for thirty minutes, until the aubergines are very tender and collapsed.

   Bake filled aubergines until collapsed · 30 minUses All six retained roasted shells · All prepared filling; keep its held chopped parsley garnish aside · All actual strained juice from the eight prepared tomatoes · A drizzle of extra olive oil over the stuffed aubergines

8. 8

   Step 8: While the aubergines bake, wash the half cucumber, scoop out its seeds and grate it. Mix the grated cucumber with all the Greek yogurt (150 g) and two tablespoons of chopped mint. Put the finished tzatziki in a small bowl and keep it chilled until serving.

   Uses 150 g Greek yogurt for tzatziki · ½ cucumber, deseeded and grated in step 8 · 2 tbsp chopped mint for tzatziki

9. 9

   Step 9: Season all twelve lamb loin chops with salt, black pepper and the pinch of paprika. Griddle, grill or barbecue for about three minutes on each side until the fat is nicely browned and the thickest part of the meat reaches at least 63°C / 145°F. Continue cooking if needed, then rest the chops for at least three minutes. Wash and halve the lemon (1), transfer the rested chops to a serving dish and squeeze both lemon halves over them.

   Uses 12 lamb loin chops · 1 pinch paprika for lamb seasoning · 1 lemon, halved for lamb finishing · Salt for lamb chops, to taste · Black pepper for lamb chops, to taste

10. 10

    Step 10: Scatter the actual reserved chopped parsley over the baked stuffed aubergines. Serve the six filled halves with the twelve rested lemon-finished lamb chops and the prepared tzatziki, making six servings.

    Uses All six baked stuffed aubergine halves · All twelve cooked rested lamb chops · All chilled prepared tzatziki · The small actual portion of chopped parsley kept for serving