MenuMenu

  1. Home
  2. saturday kitchen recipe
  3. Coal-roasted aubergine with red miso, feta and toasted cashews

Coal-roasted aubergine with red miso, feta and toasted cashews

Preparation time
overnight

Cooking time
10 to 30 mins

Serves
Serves 2

Dietary
Vegetarian

By David Carter
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the marinade

  • ½ tsp sesame seeds
  • ½ tsp red chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp sesame oil
  • 10g/⅓oz minced garlic
  • 10g/⅓oz grated fresh root ginger
  • 25ml/1fl oz dark soy sauce
  • 50ml/2fl oz light soy sauce
  • 40g/1½ oz runny honey

For the coal-roasted aubergine with cashews and feta

  • 1 aubergine
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 30g/1oz cashew nuts
  • 40g/1½oz feta
  • 1 tbsp balsamic glaze
  • ½ spring onion, chopped

For the red miso butter

  • 150g/5½oz butter, softened
  • 20g/1oz red miso paste
  • 1 tbsp mirin (or 15g/½oz caster sugar)
  • 20g/¾oz gochujang paste
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar

Method

  1. To make the marinade, place the sesame seeds, chilli flakes and sesame oil into a pestle and mortar and grind to a paste. Place in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients, mix well and set aside. Preheat a barbecue to hot.

  2. To make the aubergine, barbecue the aubergine directly over hot coals for 5 minutes. Rotate the aubergine by 180 degrees and cook for another 5 minutes. Alternativly you can cook on a gas hob for 7–9 minutes. Once the aubergine is soft to the touch all over, transfer to a board and leave to cool. Avoid fiddling with it or it will damage the skin and make the flesh go mushy.

  3. Once the aubergine is cool, peel and discard the skin, then put the whole peeled aubergine into the marinade. Leave to soak for at least 4 hours, and ideally for 8 hours or overnight. (While it’s marinating, the aubergine will release juices into the marinade, which is important. If you prefer a less punchy marinade, add around 125ml/4fl oz water first.)

  4. To make the red miso butter, combine the softened butter with the miso, mirin, gochujang and rice vinegar in a bowl.

  5. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. To make the cashews, heat the butter in a frying pan over a low heat and toast the cashews until golden-brown. Tip out on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.

  6. To serve, lift the aubergine from its marinade and transfer to a roasting tin. Spread the aubergine liberally with the miso butter. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, or barbecue with the lid down, until hot all the way through. Transfer to a serving plate. Crumble over the feta and top with the toasted cashews, balsamic glaze and spring onion. Serve immediately.

scroll to top