Miznon chef Eyal Shani is at his finest in this simple eggplant recipe with an unusual presentation.

Pickled vegetables and oil-cured eggplant make a winning starter that's easy to prepare ahead.

The sweet and sour flavours of caponata are the perfect partner to rich chicken liver.

A generous sprinkling of pangrattato and whole leaves of basil add plenty of interest to this vegan pasta.

The smoky flavours of coal-roasted eggplant are complemented by ricotta salata and sweet golden shallots in this stand-out salad by Longsong chef David Moyle.

Nasu dengaku is one of Japan's most popular exports for a reason. Get ready to fire up that grill.

A simple but elegant dish that works beautifully as either a main or a side.

"The spicy eggplant at Sydney's Good Luck Pinbone is one of my favourites. Would you get the recipe?" - Susan Ridge, Bowral, NSW

"Admittedly, on the surface this dish seems a bit odd," says Achatz. "Cocoa, pumpkin, cardamom, lamb? This is a perfect example, however, of a technique we use frequently at Alinea called 'flavour bouncing'."

Let the fourth-generation French-Australian chef guide you through the art of making ratatouille.