"The scents and flavours of Sicily, a magical and captivating land, radiant and beautiful from north to south and west to east. This recipe originates from the eastern part: pasta alla Norma. A symbol of island cuisine, this Sicilian specialty was crafted as a culinary tribute to the most exquisite work of the renowned composer Vincenzo Bellini: Norma." - Luca Muscato and Marco Salzano If you'd like to make your own passata, follow our recipe here provided by Luca Muscato and Marco Salzano. This recipe is by Luca Muscato and Marco Salzano from Super Norma.

This salad has it all, and your guests will agree. Extracted from Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage (Ebury Press, $55). Text © Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage 2020 Photography © Jonathan Lovekin 2020.

"Eggplant is one of those vegetables that can stand up against big spices and flavour, so here I have all the bold flavours of a Cape Malay curry with chunks of roasted eggplant. Mopped up with some flaky flatbread, it’s a winner." – Warren Mendes. This recipe is from an edited extract from Food Trail: South Africa by Warren Mendes, published by Booktopia Studios, $59.99. Photography by Toby Murphy.

"This zingy scapece dressing really makes this dish sing! Italians commonly use this dressing with fried zucchini, but roasted eggplant works just as well – possibly even better. While you can fry the eggplants, I think roasting helps them keep a better shape, and with less oil used in the cooking process, they become the perfect vessels to absorb this slippery sauce! A good smear of dressing from the back of a spoon over every round of eggplant is the trick." - Annie Conley This recipe is by Annie Conley

"Jungle curry comes from the forest areas of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. It is one of the few curries made without coconut milk. This is because it is made only of produce collected or hunted in the jungle, and coconut trees do not grow in this region of Thailand. The traditional game is replaced here by chicken." – Orathay Souksisavanh. This recipe is an edited extract from Thai Home Cooking by Orathay Souksisavanh, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99.

This spicy dish heroes the thick and chewy Japanese noodle with beef and eggplant.

"With cannelloni, it’s very important to let the pasta dry for several hours at least, but ideally overnight. This enables it to keep its shape and integrity once it’s filled." - Andreas Papadakis Recipe note: Begin this recipe at least 4-5 hours ahead. You can make Andreas Papadakis' master pasta dough from his recipe here, and his Napoli tomato sauce recipe here. This is an edited extract from Tipo 00: The Pasta Cookbook by Andreas Papadakis, published by Murdoch Books, AUD$49.99, available July 30, 2024.

Move over meatballs, Yotam Ottolenghi has changed the game with these eggplant dumplings.

"This vegetable moussaka is proof that comfort food can be both delicious and nourishing! The hardest part is the waiting once it’s out of the oven, but I’ve learned to let this moussaka rest for at least 20 minutes. It firms up and makes slicing much easier." – Dominic Smith You’ll need a 23cm x 30cm (5cm-deep) rectangular ovenproof dish for this recipe.

Spice up your next dinner party with this classic Middle Eastern eggplant dish. Serve warm or cold, but always with plenty of pita bread for dipping and scooping.

"Papoutsakia means ‘little shoes’, and is similar to a moussaka." – Helena Moursellas.

"This is my variation on the classic miso-marinated cod from the wonderful Nobu restaurants, plus an attempt to make (my favourite) eggplant more interesting for my family. You could serve this with some rice, but the salmon and eggplant are actually rich and filling without any other accompaniment, making this a fantastic carb-free meal if you’re into that." - Bill Granger. Images and text from Australian Food by Bill Granger, photography by Mikkel Vang. Murdoch Books RRP $49.99

"I've always said eggplant parmigiana is my death-row dish. I only cook it between February and April, because that's when you can get this particular type of eggplant from Sicily, called a 'rosa bianca'." – Nigel Ward. You'll need a a 28cm round (2.5L-capacity) baking dish.

If you are making this a day ahead, assemble the rolls in the sauce without baking, then the next day put the cheese on top and bake as instructed. This is an edited extract from Simple Italian by Silvia Colloca, (Plum, $39.99). Available February 23. Photography by Rob Palmer.

“Inspired by the family favourite butter chicken, this vegie version slow-cooks the eggplant until meltingly tender. Serve in whole pieces or break up the eggplant and stir through the sauce.” – Phoebe Wood.