Check out the video of Phil and I presenting garden2kitchen at the Buderim Ginger Festival…we served up chargrilled stone fruits witha coconut ginger sauce and the szechwan eggplant recipe from Jan/Feb issue of  ABC Organic Gardener magazine, here are the recipes…Enjoy!

Szechwan eggplant

Serves 4 as entrée 6 as a side dish

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

6 Lebanese eggplants, trimmed and cut into 6-7cm lengths

Salt and Pepper mix

1 tablespoon Szechwan pepper

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon rock salt

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 long red chilli, sliced

4 green onions

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon limejuice

½ cup unsalted cashews, toasted

1/4 cup coriander leaves, roughly copped

2 green onions, extra for garnish

1 bunch pak choy or Asian green of your choice

Heat Szechwan, black peppercorns and salt in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat until salt is slightly browned, stirring constantly to stop the spices from burning. Remove from the heat and pound to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Pour enough oil into a wok or deep saucepan to come to a depth of 10 centimetres. Heat over medium-high heat to 180C. Deep-fry the eggplant in two batches until tender, 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels. Remove the wok from the heat and carefully remove the oil and reserve.

Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil with the sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, green onions and 1 tablespoon of prickly ash, stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the stock, sauces and limejuice and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Stir through the cashews and pour the sauce into a serving bowl. Reheat the wok to a high heat and add the Pak Choy, stir frying until wilted.

Place the Pak Choy onto a platter and top with the eggplants. Garnish with coriander leaves, extra green onions, an extra sprinkle of salt and pepper mix and pour the sauce over the eggplants and serve with steamed rice.

Char-grilled Stonefruit with Coconut Ginger Sauce

1 ripe peach, cut in half and stone removed

1ripe nectarine, cut in half and stone removed

2 ripe apricots, cut in half and stone removed

2 ripe mangoes

2 tablespoons Thai palm sugar, shaved

Coconut Ginger Sauce

1 cup coconut cream

2 tablespoons Buderim Ginger mild crystallised ginger, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Thai palm sugar, shaved

1 lime, zest and juice

2 tablespoons water

Cut cheeks from mangoes. Discard stones. Cut 3 vertical lines and 3 horizontal lines in each mango cheek, without cutting all the way through.

Heat a char-grill on a medium heat. Sprinkle the palm sugar over the flesh of each fruit. Place the fruit, flesh side down on grill and cook on both sides for 3 minutes or until golden.

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring constantly.

Place the grilled fruit onto a large serving plate and drizzle over the coconut ginger sauce.