Miso glazed king salmon with eggplant puree & pickled radishes

Pickled radishes
1⁄2 cup sugar
10 radishes, thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup rice wine vinegar

Place the sugar in a saucepan with 1⁄2 cup water. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for 5 minutes or until thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool. This is the sugar syrup.

Place the radishes in a bowl. Combine the rice wine vinegar with the sugar syrup and 1 cup of water
in a saucepan. Heat until simmering then pour over the radishes and set aside for 1 hour to pickle.

For the miso marinade
150g red miso paste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
50ml mirin
50ml sake
50g sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, whisking continuously so the mixture doesn’t catch. Keep stirring until it thickens to a custard-like consistency then set aside to cool.

For the eggplant & salmon
2 eggplants
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
500g piece skinned and boned salmon fillet
steamed broccoli florets, coriander sprigs and lime wedges to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wrap the eggplants in foil and place on a baking tray. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven (leave the oven on) and scrape the eggplant flesh out of the skins, discarding the skins.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over low heat then add the onion, garlic and salt. Fry gently for 5 minutes until soft. Add the eggplant flesh, soy sauce and mirin and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend to a smooth puree. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then keep warm.

Rub the cooled miso marinade all over the salmon and stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat then add the salmon and fry for about 10 seconds each side – just enough to colour it. Transfer to a baking tray and cook in the oven for 8 minutes or until cooked to your liking – it should still be slightly raw in the centre.

Drain the radishes. Place the eggplant puree on a serving platter then top with the cooked salmon. Garnish with the pickled radishes, broccoli florets and sprigs of coriander. Serve with lime wedges.