Chili Miso Roasted Eggplant Dip

I had some leftover eggplant from making tempura and I haven’t roasted anything in my woodstove recently (which is pretty much roaring 24/7), so I decided to do a roasted eggplant dip. If you don’t have a wood stove to impart the delicious smokey flavor–a grill over wood and hot coals is second best. Lacking that, you can do this in the oven.

I have been obsessively creating recipes around Abokichi’s Chili Miso Oil and this is one that the whole family (including my insane children) enjoys.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch of salt, to taste
• Pinch of pepper, to taste
• 1 eggplant, quartered lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons Abokichi Chili Miso Oil
• Olive oil crackers (recipe found here)
• Optionally garnish with kaiware or cress sprouts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or damper down your wood stove to glowing coals).
2. Coat eggplant with olive oil and place skin side down onto a metal baking tray.
3. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and soft, slightly charred on the edges. Or roast in your wood burning stove for about 15 minutes directly over the embers until soft and skin is blistered.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, peel off skin and place eggplant flesh into blender.
5. Add pinch of salt, pepper, and two tablespoons olive oil. Pulse until desired consistency (I like it slightly courser.)
6. Top with Abokichi Chili Miso Oil and serve with olive oil crackers.