Miso aubergine with grain salad recipe

This miso aubergine with grain salad is one of our favourite easy meals when you really want to impress someone. 

It's so simple but so tasty. It really feels like something you'd get in a fancy restaurant, with an amazing 'umami' savoury taste. Served over the grain salad, it's a brilliant vegetarian dinner. Plus it's easy to make it vegan too - we've made notes on this in the ingredient list. The recipe comes in three parts - the aubergine, the salad and the simple dressing. For the salad, we've use ready-cooked grains because it keeps the cooking time down dramatically and there's no need to for any pre-soaking. 

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine, halved
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• ½ tbsp honey (or maple syrup if vegan)
• ½ tbsp sesame oil
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 spring onions, sliced (to serve)
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced (to serve)

For the salad: 

• 250g pack Merchant Gourmet Mixed Grains
• 100g frozen edamame beans
• ½ bunch coriander, plus extra to serve

For the dressing:

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey (or maple syrup if vegan)
• juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Score the aubergine halves in a diagonal checkerboard style.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the miso, honey, sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic and then brush the mixture over the scored aubergine. Roast for 30 mins until golden and tender.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the grains for 2 mins and cook the edamame for 5 mins in a pan of simmering water. When both are cooked, combine the grains and the edamame in a bowl and stir through coriander. Mix together dressing ingredients and stir through, then season well to taste.
4. Divide the salad between 2 plates and top each with an aubergine half. Scatter with spring onion, coriander and chilli to serve.

Top tip for miso aubergine with grain salad

You can serve this miso aubergine over all sorts of salads, or on their own as a side dish or snack, or as part of a tapas-style spread.

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