Throughout the 2017 season we are going to bring you a number of recipes from Sydney Swans chef Courtney Roulston.

We will bring you a different recipe each week from Courtney involving a lot of what the players eat on a weekly basis.

MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT SALAD

SERVES 4

6 Japanese or finger eggplant
2tsp sea salt
60ml olive oil for brushing
100g white shiro miso paste*
50g caster sugar
40ml mirin*
40ml sake
2tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
1Tb chives, finely sliced

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the eggplants in half lengthways and cut a few shallow slits in the flesh of the eggplant on the diagonal. Sprinkle the flesh with the sea salt and leave for 15 minutes for some of the bitterness and moisture to be drawn from the eggplants. Rinse the salt off and pat eggplant dry with kitchen towel. Brush the eggplant with the oil and grill in a non-stick fry pan over a medium heat for a few minutes each side until golden, but no cooked all the way through. Transfer the eggplants flesh side up onto a lined oven tray.

Whisk together the miso, sugar, mirin and sake until it is a smooth paste. Brush the miso glaze over the eggplants and bake the eggplants in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the eggplants are tender and the miso glaze is bubbling and fragrant. Remove from the oven and arrange eggplants onto a serving platter and sprinkle over the sesame seeds and chives. Serve warm.

*Miso paste and mirin are from selected supermarkets & Asian food stores.