May your dreams feature eggplant

THE latest research in psychology tells us remarkable things about dreams.

In The Secret World of Sleep, neuroscientist Penny Lewis explains that the raw process of dreaming is far more relevant than the narrative content we experience within it.

Our past, our thoughts, our hopes, our fears, indeed the myriad of our human experience, is synthesised and stored, allowing for better recall and comprehension.

All this makes sense, but how do we marry this with traditional cultural understandings of dreams? From Freudian insights to ideas of fortune telling, in dreams humans have seen a range of possibilities. Perhaps none is more interesting than the ancient Japanese concept of “hatsuyume”.

“Hatsuyume” is the first dream one experiences in a new year and was understood to foretell your luck for the next 12 months.

Of particular good fortune were dreams of Mt Fuji (a central figure in Japanese self-conception), hawks (seen as powerful and intelligent predators), and eggplants.

Yep, eggplants. This idiosyncrasy is well-described, though its reasoning seems to have been lost to history.

I guess the point is, no matter how obscure your night-time ramblings, you can always find something positive within it. Sleep well.

SPICE-BAKED EGGPLANT WITH LEMONY TOMATO SALSA

SERVES: 4

Ingredients

4 long eggplants

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp ground chilli

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 red onion, finely diced ¼ bunch basil leaves, torn Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Halve the eggplants lengthways and slash with a sharp knife.

2. Combine the spices and olive oil in a small bowl, then season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange the eggplants in a lined baking dish, then drizzle with the spice oil.

4. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until just tender.

5. Mix the tomatoes, onion, basil and lemon juice, then spoon over eggplants.