Barbeque aubergine soup

Serves 4, vegan
To simplify the making of this soup you could roast the aubergines without the Japanese style bbq sauce but it's worth giving it a try as it can be stored in the fridge for weeks and used in another recipe. If you have some other leftover sauce such as the teriyaki or yakitori then you could use that instead.
Aubergines in bbq sauce 1 aubergine cut into 12 slices 30ml (2tbsp) tomato sauce 20ml (1tbsp) vegetarian worcester sauce or Hendersons or HP brown sauce 30ml (2tbsp) mirin 20ml (2tbsp) sake 20ml (2tbsp) sesame oil 1 thumb of fresh ginger, grated 20ml (2tbsp) soy sauce 2 teaspoons white sugar For the soup 1 small sweet potato 1 litre (4 cups) dashi 80ml (7 tbsp)Sake 40ml (3 tbsp)mirin 120ml (8 tbsp)soy sauce 2 tbsp Sesame seeds for garnishing	First of all make the bbq sauce by mixing all of the ingredients from the tomato sauce down to sugar in a bowl. Grate the ginger on the finest grater you have. If you find this sauce too sweet use a savoury tomato sauce. If you can't find a vegetarian worcester sauce use another type of brown sauce - use your favourite.
	Next slice your aubergine into 12 slices and dip them in the bbq sauce. Place the aubergine slices on a baking tray and bake them in a medium oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are soft all of the way through. These can be served as they are as a vegetable accompaniment sprinkled with some toasted sesame seeds.
	To make the soup combine the dashi, sake, mirin and soy in a pan and bring it to a slow simmer. Peel and thinly slice the sweet potato and add it to the soup. Keep simmering until the sweet potato is cooked through. This should only take about 10 minutes. Toast your sesame seeds by heating them in a dry frying pan until they start to go brown. Place the soup into bowls with the sweet potato, add three slices of aubergine to each one, and sprinkle over some sesame seeds.

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Sake is a Japanese rice wine. The quality can vary enormously but for cooking purposes I would buy quite a cheap one to start with. If you like to drink it buy a big bottle.
Mirin is a sweetened sake with a similar taste to a sweet sherry. It is used a lot in Japanese cooking and used in many recipes in this book so it is worth seeking out a bottle. Lots of supermarkets now stock mirin and you will more than likely find it in your local Asian grocer. It can be quite expensive but no more than a good sherry.
Sesame oil isn't generally used for cooking but added as a finish to sauces. The oil should be dark brown and have a strong toasted sesame seed flavour. Use any Asian style brand. You will find it in most supermarkets.