Eggplant

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.

Here, roasting the tomatoes first brings out their sweetness. Calamari or baby octopus would work well in place of the prawns.

"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'."