Ingredients

• 8 lamb chops
• ½ red onion
• peeled and roughly chopped
• small handful fresh coriander leaves and roots
• 2 garlic cloves
• peeled
• 2cm/1in piece of fresh ginger
• peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 long red chilli
• roughly chopped
• 20g/¾oz sea salt
• 200g/7oz brown miso paste
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 75ml/2½fl oz sake
• 75ml/2½fl oz mirin
• 1 large plump dark purple aubergine
• peeled and cut into large chunks
• vegetable oil
• for deep frying
• 50g/1¾oz whole sugared walnuts
• roughly chopped
• few pinches of white Japanese sesame seeds
• small pinch of sansho pepper
• 1 daikon
• peeled and thinly sliced the
• 200ml/7fl oz rice vinegar
• 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
• small piece of kombu
• generous pinch of salt
• 2 yuzu (or limes)
• zest only
• 100g/3½oz gochujang (Korean pepper paste)
• 4 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sake
• 15g/½oz caster sugar
• 10g/1/3g white miso paste
• 1 egg yolk
• 250g/9oz fine smoking chips
• 125g/4½oz sencha green tea powder
• 85g/3oz raw rice
• 1 lemon
• cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
• handful of mizuna leaves

Directions

• For the BBQ marinade
• place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Place the chops in a glass bowl and pour over the marinade and set aside in the fridge for at least for two hours.
• For the den miso
• place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk. Add to a hot frying pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• For the miso grilled aubergine
• heat a deep-fat fryer
• or fill a large
• deep
• heavy-based pan two-thirds full with vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 180C/350F (use a probe thermometer to check the temperature if you're not using a deep-fat fryer). (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Don't leave unattended)
• Preheat the grill to high.
• Place the aubergine chunks into the deep fat fryer and cook for about two minutes until golden-brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
• Coat each piece with a generous dollop of den miso sauce.
• Place under the grill for 1-2 minutes.
• For the pickled daikon
• place the daikon in a glass bowl.
• Place heat all the other ingredients in a saucepan to melt the sugar and salt.
• Pour the liquid over the daikon and allow to cool. Refrigerate for an hour and then it’s ready to use.
• For the spicy Korean miso
• whisk together all the ingredients except from the egg yolk and cook gently in a saucepan over a very low heat for 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolk. Allow to cool before using.
• For the smoking mix and BBQ lamb chops
• wipe the marinade off the lamb chops.
• Heat a wok and add the wood chips. Once smoking add the rice
• heat through and then add the green tea.
• Place a rack on top and place the lamb on the rack
• cover and smoke for two minutes on each side. Remove the lamb and set aside to cool.
• Rub the lamb chops with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large char grill and cook the lamb for 2-3 minutes each side depending on the thickness of the chop
• or until just pink in the middle. Place the cut lime on the griddle too while cooking the lamb.
• To serve
• arrange the aubergine on a serving plate.
• Top with the walnuts
• sesame seeds and a light sprinkling of the sansho pepper and a small wedge of lemon.
• Serve a mound of pickled daikon on a separate plate with the lamb chops sprinkled with chives and topped with mizuna.