Miso aubergine and gratitude

Miso aubergine for an effortless meal with a side of rice or noodles for a happy tummy. This recipe is simple, succulent, and perfect if you have guests coming over for dinner.

Aubergines are an incredibly versatile veggie as their pulp can absorb so many different types of flavour. If you don’t like them, I challenge you, try them with miso for a completely new taste.

Aubergines are at the basis of many simple recipes, and they are such a treat with their meaty texture if you follow a vegetarian/plant-based diet or want to approach this type of cuisine.

Many people don’t like aubergines which always shocks me as I think they are the greatest summer love affair. If I still have a chance to convince you, this is a tip I’ll give you: the secret of a good aubergine dish is not to hurry. Give aubergines enough time to show you their real flavour.

You need to cook them slowly and when in doubt always cook them for a bit longer. Aubergines will completely change their texture when ready, the translucent purply brown pulp will melt in your mouth. If they are still white and spongy-like, get a nice drink, and wait.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Travelling to Japan

This dish starts from aubergines, an ingredient so ordinary in Mediterranean countries, but travels far away to Japan with the sweet mighty miso paste.

Miso aubergines, or nasu dengaku, are a traditional Japanese recipe. Its origins are in spring rice planting celebrations, called dengaku, hence the name.

• 

• 

• 

The first months of blogging

This dish is based on a few ingredients and simple preparation, but it also takes quite a long time, and the courage to try something new.

That’s why to me this dish is a great recipe to celebrate the very first months of The Kitchen Sofa.

I always wanted to find the time to write my recipes down and do what’s most important to me: share food with the people I love.

As years went by, I understood that what I lacked wasn’t time but courage. It takes so much strength to put yourself out there, no matter how big or small your dreams and passions are. I constantly told myself that what the world doesn’t need is one more blog.

• 

• 

But in 2021, after a global pandemic, I understood that it wasn’t anymore just about what the world needed but what I needed too.

I came back to pen and paper. I scribbled and doodled what felt good. I am finding myself again in every word and every ingredient.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Every post requires a lot of work and love. I am equally shy and proud of this blog. It is a work in progress, a step forward whose only purpose is the journey itself.

After long months of keeping this blog all in my head, I finally found the courage to share my passion project with you all.

A big thank you

We can’t achieve anything on our own though. I would have succumbed to my own doubts without words of encouragement from my dearest friends.

This dish is my way to say thank you.

Thank you, my friends for your support in these very first months. I needed it, I need it, and it fills my heart every day.

And if you are new to this blog, you are very welcome too! Come on in and try miso aubergines too.

This dish is perfect to host a dinner at home, you can easily prepare it in advance, forget it in the oven while getting ready, and serve it as soon as your guests arrive with no hassle.

I’d love to invite you all over for dinner with the warm evening sun. We’d be enjoying caramelised aubergines, chats, and laughs.

And you? Do you have any passion project you’d like to start? As my friend Inga told me, today is the best day to start.