My week as a single parent continues. Boy, would I need to get better organized if I did this all the time. I fully acknowledge that I am spoiled with Ernie but this sure brings it home. Did some late night googling on laundry detergent substitutions because there was no way I was going to put my bra back on and go to the store by that point in the evening. Things seemed to get clean. This morning I actually made time to eat breakfast but unfortunately it was accompanied by a tween freakout because my "let me know if you need something washed for school" had been interpreted as "well, everything I need was in the mountain of dirty clothes and I just assumed you'd stay up all night washing everything."
I wanted to experiment with some eggplant recipes despite my children wanting dinner the moment I got in the door. So I confess I fed them, then got myself a claritin, some ibuprofin and a glass of wine and relaxed before I proceeded. I must say though....despite the chaos of the evening this recipe was WONDERFUL!
I don't cook with eggplant enough and I don't know why, so I have been delighted with the beautiful eggplants we've been getting in our Sola Gratia shares. One of the recipes we had looked at in Owen's Izakaya cookbook had been for red miso glazed Japanese eggplants so that had stuck in my head. I, of course, was using a standard Italian eggplant and didn't have red miso so I went exploring. Most of the recipes I found used white miso and that's what I had open so I went with that. The miso I bought at Green Onion is kept in their coolers towards the back on the left hand side of the store as you come in. I like it but I'm not expert....you can get it at any Asian grocery or probably at a lot of supermarkets as well..
It seemed as though most of the recipes followed a standard formula of 2 parts miso to 1 part mirin (or rice wine vinegar) and 1 part sugar. I used 1/4 cup of miso and 2 tablespoons each of mirin and sugar and it made much more than I needed but it should keep well.
I cut my eggplants in half the long way and scored the flesh. I drizzled them with sesame oil and a bit of salt. Some recipes say to salt and let sit but I'm not patient enough. Your choice. Then I cooked them cut side down in a roasting pan at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes....just until softened and cooked through. I turned them cut side up and smeared the miso mixture over it and popped them under a broiler. Absolutely delicious....I couldn't stop nibbling it as it sat in the pan! A wonderful mixture of delicate eggplant and the salty/sweet earthiness of the miso glaze. It was quick and easy and I don't need to look at a recipe for it...which means I am far more likely to make it again.
Miso Glazed Eggplant
1 eggplant cut in half, skin left on
sesame oil
1/4 cup white miso
2 tablespoons mirin (you could substitute with rice wine vinegar)
2 tablespoons sugar
Score the flesh of the eggplants, drizzle with oil and roast cut side down until soft. Mix miso, mirin and sugar and stir til smooth. Flip eggplants cut side up, spread with miso mixture to taste and broil til carmelized.



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