This is just about the easiest thing ever, and it’s so good! We have a Japanese place near our house, and my favorite thing on the menu is a salad that’s topped with miso roasted eggplant. Guys: a salad. I eat and enjoy plenty of salad, but it’s not usually my favorite thing on the menu at any restaurant, so the fact that it is at this particular place says a lot. It’s all about the eggplant. Of course, once I tried it I had to go home and reverse-engineer the dish. It wasn’t too tough though; the flavors are super simple, but they work amazingly together. Part of me was itching to throw in some garlic, ginger, hot sauce…I like a lot of flavor in my food, but this time around a little bit went a long way. Basically here’s how it goes: roast up some eggplant. I used Japanese eggplant, which I guess would be in line with the origins of the dish, but I’m sure any old eggplant will work just as well. While the eggplant roasts, mix up the glaze and give it a quick simmer. The glaze was so good that I was eating it out of the saucepan, but then again I’m weird like that. Then, when the eggplant is all nice and tender, brush on the glaze and stick it under the broiler, so you get some of those nice dark spots. You can really serve it however you like, even on a salad. I just ate mine plain, with a side of rice.
