Roast Miso Aubergine (Eggplant Steaks)

A simple recipe for roasted aubergine (eggplant) flavoured with miso and served on a bed of chill-ginger carrot mash and garlic pak choi.

ROAST MISO AUBERGINE (EGGPLANT STEAKS)

Sometimes you just need a big plateful of vegetables.

That doesn't mean it has to be boring. It can be colourful and exciting with lots of flavours and textures like this miso aubergine.

These aubergine 'steaks' are roasted in the oven with some gorgeous flavours and served on a bed of chilli and ginger flavoured carrot mash and garlic pak choi (also known as bok choy).

THE MEDICINAL CHEF - PLANT-BASED DIET

This rather spectacular recipe comes from a new vegan cookbook called The Medicinal Chef - Plant-Based Diet by Dale Pinnock.

Dale is an award-winning nutritionist and best-selling author of 18 books.

His latest title has more than 80 easy and delicious plant-based recipes to help boost your nutritional health in an easy way.

PLANT-BASED RECIPES

The cookbook has lots of useful information about the science and health issues behind a vegan diet. As we all know, unless a vegan diet is done properly, it can be just as unhealthy as any other diet.

Here's a breakdown of what's in the book and some recipes to look out for.

INTRODUCTION

In the introduction, Dale talks about his own diet, why he wrote this book and tells us about a few pitfalls and myths to watch out for.

THE SCIENCE

This chapter covers digestive health; cardiovascular health; immune health; skeletal health; skin health and a glossary of common phytochemicals. 

He talks through vitamins and minerals in each section, how they help your body and which foods to find them in.

THE RECIPES

1. RAW - Recipes to celebrate raw fruit and vegetables with lots of tasty salads.
• look out for - Mango, Chilli & Coriander Lettuce Wraps
2. BLITZ AND BLEND - Blender soups and dips.
• look out for - Beetroot, Walnut and Wasabi Dip
3. STOVE TOP - Mostly hearty one-pot recipes. Curry, pasta, stew, noodles....
• look out for - Tofu Shiitake Rice Noodles
4. READY IN A HURRY - Quickly thrown together but nutritious recipes including wraps, toast, stir fry, salad, pasta and rice.
• look out for - Roasted Mushroom Tacos
5. MINIMAL EFFORT - Easy recipes that don't need much prep.
• look out for - Spiced Squash Traybake with Couscous
6. TIME ON YOUR HANDS - Special dishes for when you want to take a bit more time, but still simple to make.
• look out for - Lentil and Chickpea Shepherd's Pie
7. A BIT ON THE SIDE - A great way to add extra veg to your plate, but with lots of extra flavour and texture.
• look out for - Maple Roasted Parsnips

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is my kind of cookbook. 

The recipes are vegetable-heavy which is the way I like to cook and eat.

The information on nutrition is really easy to understand and a good reminder for us all to up our game for health benefits now and in the long run.

I love the beautiful full-sized photos for most of the recipes and there is a nice section at the back which lists recipes by nutrient, so you can make sure you have a good mix of nutrients and meals throughout the week.

The Medicinal Chef: Plant-based Diet by Dale Pinnock was published by Hamlyn (£20) on 10 June 2021.

CARROT MASH

Carrots are often just boiled or steamed and served up on the side of dishes with little thought. I do this myself sometimes.

It really is worth mashing carrots for a change.

If you're Scottish, you'll probably mash them with neeps (turnips), but they are great as a mash themselves. 

In this recipe, the carrots are mashed with chilli and ginger for an extra flavour boost and the sweetness along with the spice make a wonderful contrast to the umami flavours of the miso aubergine.

PAK CHOI

This aubergine is served with pak choi along with the carrot mash.

The pak choi is simply cooked with a little garlic.

Pak choi, also known as bok choy, is popular in Asian cooking and is a member of the cabbage family.

I'm a big fan of it and use it in my Easy Peanut Butter Noodles.

If you can't find pak choi, you could use a softer style of cabbage like sweetheart cabbage or pre-shredded spring greens.

MISO PASTE

Miso paste is a good way to add flavour to so many recipes.

It's good with roast vegetables and added to soups, sauces and dressings.

There are three main types of miso paste:

WHITE MISO 

This is a mildly fermented miso with a mild almost sweet flavour and a good place to start if you've not tried miso before.

YELLOW (OR BROWN) MISO 

This miso is fermented for longer and is also mild but has a stronger flavour than white, but is still mild.

RED MISO

This is fermented for much longer and is often dark red or dark brown. It has a really strong flavour, so should be used carefully and sparingly. It would totally overwhelm mild flavours.

For this recipe Dale uses brown miso, which I would guess is the medium ferment. You could use either of the milder types of miso and as aubergine has quite a hearty flavour so could take a little of the red miso.

MORE AUBERGINE RECIPES

Here are a few more tasty aubergine (eggplant) recipes for you to try:

• Aubergine 'Meatballs'
• Aubergine Pizza Sauce
• Aubergine, Sweet Potato & Plum Tagine
• Easy Aubergine Balti
• Grilled Aubergine, Asparagus & Chilli Spaghetti
• Jamie Style Aubergine Tomato Pasta
• Sheet Pan Aubergine & Chickpea Bake
• Slow Cooker Aubergine & Onion Masala

If you love roast vegetables try this deliciously smooth vegan Boursin & roast veg pasta sauce.

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dinner

Asian, vegan

Yield: 2

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum (with kind permission)

Miso Aubergine (Eggplant Steaks)

A simple recipe for roasted aubergine (eggplant) flavoured with miso and served on a bed of chill-ginger carrot mash and garlic pak choi.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar (wine or cider vinegar)
• 1 large aubergine (eggplant), halved, deeply scored in diamonds, but don't cut through the skin.
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 2 small green chillies. deseeded and finely chopped
• 5 mm (1/4 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 pak choi (bok choy), leaves seperated
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Mix the miso, maple syrup, sesame oil and vinegar.
2. Place the aubergine halves in a baking tray and pour over most of the marinade, letting it fill the cuts and drip over the edge. Set aside for 10-30 minutes to marinade.
3. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan/400 fan/gas mark 6.
4. Roast the aubergine in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Check it as it's cooking, if it starts to brown too much, cover it with foil.
5. While the aubergine is roasting, steam or boil the carrots until they are soft enough to mash. Drain and mash with the chilli and ginger and season with salt and pepper.
6. In another pan, saute the garlic gently in the olive oil with a pinch of salt, then add the pak choi and saute for a few minutes until wilted.
7. Divide the mash between 2 plates and arrange the pak choi alongside it. Top with aubergine, then drizzle over the rest of the marinade.
8. Enjoy!

Notes:

If you can't find pak choi (bok choy) you can use spring greens or another soft-leaved cabbage like sweetheart cabbage.

For an extra little bit of presentation, you could sprinkle some sesame seeds over the cooked aubergines before you serve them.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

383.74

Fat (grams)

17.73

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.57

Carbs (grams)

55.63

Fiber (grams)

14.14

Net carbs

41.48

Sugar (grams)

22.61

Protein (grams)

8.02

Sodium (milligrams)

585.04

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

Created using The Recipes Generator

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review and given permission to share this recipe. Any opinions expressed are my own.