Miso Eggplant Grain Salad

Miso Eggplant Grain saladFriday to Sunday is a big cook-up day for me. On Friday, my duty is cleaning up the fridge, using up all leftovers and making big salads for the weekend. Then after a trip to the markets on Saturday or Sunday, I roll up my sleeves to prepare for the following week. It has become a bit of routine for me and I’m not complaining. All you need is some time in the kitchen and planning, which I think makes your life a lot easier and healthier, of course.

Since I’m enamored by Asian flavours, Korean in particular, I tend to pair miso with anything I can get my hands on. It is so flavourful, salty and nutty. I used one tablespoon when cooking grains and another to smear on the eggplant before it went in a frying pan. As well as miso paste, this salad recipe has all my favorites – eggplant, beet greens and grains. It is super simple and quick to put together, yet satisfying and tasty. I didn’t add any salt here because miso paste and feta cheese already contains quite a bit of sodium in them. So just add ground pepper if you need and brighten up with a squeeze of lemon. A big bowl of this salad in the middle of table is very much a sharing dish. It will go well with steamed fish or chicken. Yummy x

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 small eggplant
200g of dried grains (I used soaked chickpeas and lentils)
1 bunch of beet greens
2 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp olive oil
a squeeze of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
pepper to taste
30g feta cheese

Drain and rinse soaked grains. Cover with cold water in a pot, add 1 tbsp of miso paste and mix well, bring it up to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes or until grains are cooked. Cut the eggplant into discs and spread miso paste thinly on both sides. Heat a nonstick flying pan over medium heat, add olive oil and eggplants. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side until caramelised outside and cooked through. To assemble the salad, add cooked grains, eggplants and chopped beet greens in a bowl. Drizzle sesame oil, squeeze lemon juice, sprinkle sesame seeds and add pepper to taste. Gently toss to combine and transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top and more sesame seeds for garnish. Serve warm or room temperature.