Recipe for this healthy and nutrient dense meal for cheese and umami lovers. Try my “East meets West” story. 

A few weeks ago I saw an ad to participate in an umami recipe contest. I am a big fan of umami rich ingredients, as well as a keen cook, so decided to give it a go. I developed two different recipes for the contest and decided to publish this one as it was pretty popular.

I love aubergines (eggplants for my American readers) but I don’t get to eat them often as my partner is allergic to them (who knew someone could be allergic to aubergines!). Just a few weeks ago one of my friends reminded me how often I used to cook aubergines and that my recipe from back in the days is still her favourite and the way she always cooks them! This probably means I need to get that recipe up as well, but another day 😉

Today I am sharing this umami rich aubergines with white miso and cabrales (aka picos de Europa cheese). You can use other blue cheese if you can’t find this one. It might sound like a strange combination, but trust me on this, it works. I see it like an East meets West story. There’s a contrast, but there’s connection too.

The recipe is gluten free, diabetic friendly and low carb. If you don’t do dairy you can still eat the miso aubergines on its own or use a vegan blue cheese alternative. In addition, miso is not only tasty but also rich in probiotics as it’s a fermented food. I used a soya free variety but regular white miso would work too.

You can eat them as a side or on their own, depending on your hunger. I had them for lunch as a light meal but you can increase the portion size or have them with something else.

Let me know what you think, I will definitely be making them again soon.

 

Miso aubergines with blue cheese recipe:

Servings: 2   |   Cooking time: 45 min   |   Preparation time: 10 min   |   Wait: 30 min

Ingredients:

  • 2 large aubergines
  • 1 tsp – salt
  • 1/2 tbsp – olive oil
  • 1 tbsp – white miso paste
  • 1 tsp – cider vinegar
  • 25 ml – hot water
  • 30 grams blue cheese (I had Picos de Europa cheese)
  • 1 – green onion, sliced
  • Optional sliced red chilli to serve

Instructions:

  1. Half the aubergines lengthwise. Sprinkle the salt and put them face down on a paper towel. The aubergines will start to release liquid. We do this to remove some of the bitter taste they sometimes have. Leave them for about 30 min.
  2. Turn on the oven to 200 C.
  3. Pat dry the aubergines and score them with a sharp knife doing a criss-cross shape.
  4. Brush them with the olive oil.
  5. In a small bowl or glass, mix the miso, hot water and vinegar until you get a thick but liquid paste.
  6. Pour and spread over the aubergines, making sure the miso mixture gets in the holes you made.
  7. Place them on a baking tray and cover with aluminium foil before putting them in the oven.
  8. Cook for 30 min. Remove the foil and cook for a further 15 min or until they become golden.
  9. Remove from oven. Sprinkle crumbled cheese and sliced onion and enjoy!