Meal Plan

Spicy Miso Eggplant & Broccoli Salad, From Deliciously Ella

by:
May  2, 2019
3.5
19 Ratings
Spicy Miso Eggplant & Broccoli Salad, From Deliciously Ella
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side
Author Notes

This is a salad I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days at a time before remembering other foods exist—and I'm not just saying that because it comes from another Ella. Said Other Ella (Mills, of Deliciously Ella fame) recommends adding a sliced spicy red pepper at the end before serving, which really takes this to the next level.

Printed with permission from Ella Mills (Woodward)'s Deliciously Ella: The Plant-Based Cookbook: "This salad was a real hit in the deli, and it's one of my go-tos as well. We used to serve it cool, but have recently discovered a new love of serving it warm, straight out the oven, and couldn't recommend that more. The dressing is partly what makes this so good and I use it a lot in other dishes—the ginger, miso, sesame and lime mix is a real winner." —Ella Quittner

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the Salad
  • 2 medium aubergines (eggplants), chopped into bite-sized chunks
  • 1 large head of broccoli, chopped into florets
  • 1 pinch of Chile flakes
  • 1 handful of coriander (cilantro), chopped
  • 1 handful of sesame seeds
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • For the Miso Dressing
  • 4 tablespoons miso paste
  • 1 lime, juiced (you'll use the juice)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 240°C (464°F, fan 220°C) .
  2. For the dressing, blitz the miso, lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and some salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. If you don't have a blender, dissolve the miso paste in a tablespoon of boiling water then stir through the other dressing ingredients.
  3. In a large baking tray, mix the aubergine with the dressing and roast for 30-35 minutes. At this point, remove the tray from the oven and switch the oven over to the grill setting. Mix the broccoli florets with the aubergine, then place the tray back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the broccoli is lightly charred on top and the aubergine is soft and golden.
  4. Once cooked, remove from the oven, place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with the chilli flakes, coriander and sesame seeds before serving.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Tim Allen
    Tim Allen
  • Sena Agawu
    Sena Agawu
  • Ella Quittner
    Ella Quittner
  • myeck
    myeck

Popular on Food52

13 Reviews

myeck
myeck June 25, 2024
Arrrgh. I made the rookie mistake of not looking at the comments. I saw this recipe and was immediately thinking - I'm making this tomorrow.

My eggplant turned into hollow air-puffs (half of which stuck to the sheet pan) sue to the suggested high temp and that was after only 20 minutes.

Not sure why the author wouldn't amend the recipe to warn, after so many comments?
 
MissKuzju
MissKuzju January 18, 2021
I agree with everyone about the time (and temperature) for cooking the eggplant first - I had it at 200C for no more than 20 min before adding the broccoli. I like the broccoli crunch but I might consider blanching the broccoli first next time.

But the biggest surprise came just now, after I finished the leftovers for lunch and I had them cold. My yesterday's conclusion after dinner was that I am done with aubergines+miso because I felt this combo was not working for me, but after I had it for lunch I must say I think it tastes way better cold!
 
Tim A.
Tim A. December 30, 2020
Watch your eggplant! 30-35 minutes = Burnt eggplant. Dinner ruined. Maybe will try again one day.
 
Deanna
Deanna June 16, 2020
Same for me....The temperature is too high on our 'F' (vs 'C') ovens. The eggplant was burnt (tasty). I will try it at 375 F next time.
 
Dale
Dale August 11, 2019
Could I sub the sesame oil for avocado oil? The sesame oil is heavy and sometimes repeats with me. Looks delish!
 
Alli
Alli July 24, 2019
This recipe was delicious, really yummy flavors! Unfortunately I also had the same problem as Sena A. who posted below, my eggplant was very nearly burnt by the time I went to put in the broccoli, and I ended up doing them separately. I recommend giving the eggplant a check at 15 or 20 minutes to see how done it is.
 
Sena A.
Sena A. May 29, 2019
This salad was incredible. I love the combination of the miso flavor with the eggplants. In my case, I should have added the broccoli sooner, since the eggplant was slightly overcooked by the time the broccoli was ready. I will definitely make this again in the future!
 
MadeleineC
MadeleineC May 11, 2019
I made this last night. It was delicious, I had to restrain myself from eating too much of the dressing up while "tasting" it! Next time I think I will make a little extra and hold a few tablespoons back to dress the vegetables with after they come out of the oven. Thanks, Ella! And Su - I used white miso.
 
su
su May 10, 2019
What type of miso red or white
 
MadeleineC
MadeleineC May 9, 2019
Do you mean toasted sesame oil (in which case 3 T. seems like a lot, but I'm willing to try it) or pure sesame oil?
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 9, 2019
Hi Madeleine,

We used pure, not toasted.
 
Lee A.
Lee A. May 9, 2019
This sounds wonderful! For those of us whose ovens don't have a grill setting, can we use the broiler?
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 9, 2019
Yes!