MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT AND KALE

I’m so glad that we’ve sprung ahead once again, I love that after 7 o’clock in the P.M. it’s still light outside!  That means I’m not getting into my jammies until about 8 o’clock, but I’m A-Okay with that!  Hooray for an extra hour of good photo taking lighting!  Hooray for my watch being the correct time once again…ya…I don’t know how to change my watch.

Any hoo…Billy and I recently stopped in our old neighborhood and dined at our old favorite sushi restaurant.  They make the most wonderful miso eggplant appetizer; the eggplant is creamy and has a sweet and salty miso glaze, delish!  I had forgotten how much I loved that stuff.  

I love it so much that I’ve decided that it should be an entire meal rather than just an appetizer, so I added kale to my recipe, to give it body and extra nutrition; and because kale is quite a sturdy green it can hold up to the miso glaze without getting overwhelmed.

Sooo, normally I would have step by step photos, but I messed up.  I actually did have photos that I took the first time that I made this dish; but then I redid the dish as I wasn’t a hundred percent happy with it and I changed the cooking method slightly.  My second go round at Miso Glazed Eggplant and Kale gave me the perfect texture, and balance of flavors…but no photos!

The recipe calls for Japanese eggplant which are long, thin eggplants, that are never bitter and almost sweet when cooked.  If you can’t find Japanese eggplant I might substitute mini eggplant, or small graffiti eggplant,  but not regular eggplant.

So I’m done my blog post, and I think I’m going to go out for a walk and enjoy the extra hour of day light!  What are you gonna do with your extra hour?

MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT WITH KALE

Serves 2

3              Tbsp.        Red Miso

2              Tbsp.        Honey

2              Tbsp.        Water

1              Tbsp.        Rice vinegar

2-3           dashes     Toasted sesame oil

2-3           Tbsp.        Grape seed or canola oil, divided use

8              cups        Kale, stemmed and chopped

1               lb.          Japanese eggplant, cut into about 1 ½ inch pieces

1-2           pinches    Crushed red chili pepper

1                            Scallion, cut into about ¼ inch pieces

1               tsp.        Toasted sesame seeds

   1.       In a small bowl whisk together the red Miso, honey, water, rice vinegar and sesame oil; put that to the side.

   2.       Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the kale to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until the kale has wilted, but is still bright green in color, this takes 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove the kale from the pan and set it to the side.

   3.       Add another tablespoon of oil the same skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the eggplant to the skillet and brown the eggplant on all sides (this will take about 3 minutes), if the pan gets too dry add the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add the crushed red chili pepper and the miso sauce that you prepared earlier, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds; the sauce will thicken to the consistency of a glaze.  

   4.       Add the kale back into the skillet and toss it with the eggplant just to reheat the kale.  Remove to a platter and sprinkle the scallion and sesame seeds over the top.

Serve with rice, farro, or quinoa.


I shared this recipe at:  The Weekend Potluck, Freedom Fridays



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