As soon as august comes, I start looking forward to getting young fresh eggplant from a “pick your own”near my home in france. They are grown in glasshouses and are quite hard to harvest since the stems have small spikes. Aubergines are often baked or grilled while drenched in oil, but instead of using a lot of oil, I prefer to steam the eggplant and then add flavorings to them. The umami paste from the weekends chapter (see page 15) gives this dish a japanese touch. The tart cucumber salad on the side is a good match.