Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz butter
• softened
• 15g/½oz shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice)
• 4 sardines
• thoroughly cleaned and head on
• 2 lemons
• juice only
• 1 small aubergine
• cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 ½ tbsp mirin
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 dried Chinese red chilies
• finely chopped
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 1 spring onion
• finely chopped
• 200g/7oz spinach
• salt
• to taste
• ½ tsp of sake
• ½ tsp of mirin
• 3 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp white sugar

Directions

• Mix the butter and shichimi togarashi together. Place onto a large piece of cling film and roll into a sausage shape
• twisting the ends tightly. Refrigerate until solid. This might make more butter than you need but it will keep well in the fridge.
• Preheat the grill to high. Rinse the sardines well and gently pat them dry them with paper towels. Place the sardines under the grill until they are fully charred
• then turn over and grill until the other side is fully charred and the fish is cooked through. Drizzle with the lemon juice and top each with a slice of the shichimi togarashi butter. Set aside.
• To make the miso aubergine
• place the aubergine in a bowl of cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Mix together the sake
• mirin and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
• Drain and pat the aubergine dry with kitchen paper. Heat a frying pan until hot then add the vegetable and sesame oil with the dried chillies. Cook for 1 minute then stir in the aubergine. Cook for 3–4 minutes or until soft.
• Turn up the heat
• add the sauce in the bowl and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar and cook for 1 minute. Add the miso with 3 tablespoons of water and cook
• stirring constantly
• for 3–4 minutes or until the aubergine is soft and tender. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with the spring onions.
• To make the salad
• blanch the spinach in boiling salted water
• drain through a sieve then run cold water over it until it has cooled. Press any liquid from the spinach and roughly chop. Put into a bowl. Mix all of the remaining ingredients together then pour over the spinach and toss.
• Place the sardines
• aubergine and spinach between 4 plates and serve.