Delicious Australia – (03)March 2020

PHOTOGRAPHY

BEN DEARNLEY

STYLING

KIRSTEN JENKINS

MERCHANDISING

EMMALY STEWART

I LOVE...

A FRUITY

PLOT

ITALLSTARTEDwithanhonestquestiontoStokehousepastry
supremo,LaurenEldridge.Shewasslow-roastingtamarillosfor
hersignaturehoneycombandcustarddessert and I thought,
whathappensif youroastkiwifruit?
Myresearchintothesubjectbroughtupnouseful
information.Sure,therearerecipesforkiwifruitbakedin
cheesecakesandmuffinsontheinternet,butnothingroasted.
Perhaps,in part,becausethekiwifruitis thegaudily-dressed
wallflowerattheend-of-yearfruitdancethatonlygetsto
shimmywhenthere’spavlovaorfruitsaladonthemenu.It
seemsthatsomepeoplehaveanirrationaldistrustofthekiwi.
I evenheartalkofaninternationalsyndicatethatwebsthe
world,conspiringtokeepthespreadofthedreadedfruitin
check.SoI wentout,boughta dozenkiwisandstartedabout
myownexperiments.I roastedthemwholeandhalved,skin
offandskinon.Andactually,theresultswerefairlyimpressive.
I feltlikeColumbussightingtheNewWorld.LikeMarieCurie
discoveringradioactivity. Like Albert Einstein finally realising it
wasn’tE=M-C.
Yousee,if youroastwhole,skinnedkiwifruitfirstfor
15 minutesat 180°C,andthenfor 30 minutesat 120°C,andthen
turntheovenoffandleavethefruitin theresothefleshdries
outbutmaintainsitsstructure,theyreallyarerathergood.The
flavouris intensewitha wonderfullysouredge.It tasted,tome,
likeeye-poppinglytart,stewedapple.Betteryetwasif I leftthe
skinonbuttoppedandtailedthefruitsoit couldstandup.
Anycaramelisationwascontainedtothecutedgeswhilethe
restofthebarrelhadtheintenseflavourofsourwormsmade
withkiwifruit.Thefleshhadalsoturnedcreamy and custardy
whilestillbeingjuicyandveryfruity.
Andtherewehaveit – theperfectroastedkiwifruit.A hokey
pokeycustardis theperfectfoilforthetartness,andasLauren
Eldridgeis themuseforthisdish,I’veknockedupa honeycustard
withhoneycombbasedonherexcellentrecipe.Myfearremains,
however,thattheIKFC(InternationalKiwiFruitConspiracy)will
substitutesomethingtamerin myrecipe,likea poachedpearor
stewedapple.I suspecttheIKFCareeverywhere...I’vealways
wonderedwhymyeditorKerrieMcCallumwearsa greenbrooch
witha redlineofrubiesthroughit. If theydogettomycolumn
here,youcanfindmyrecipeforroastkiwiwithhokeypokey
custardondelicious.com.au.ED'SNOTE:Wehave,indeed,gone
with poached pear here – sorry Matt! Let the conspiracy rage on.

A kiwiconspiracy?MattPrestoninvestigates,

before things go a little pear-shaped.

POACHED PEARS WITH HOKEY POKEY CUSTARD

SERVES 4

You will need a sugar thermometer for this recipe.

1 cup(220g)castersugar

Pinchofsaffronthreads

Rindof1 lemon,cutintostrips

1 vanillabean, split, seeds scraped

4 pears

HOKEYPOKEYCUSTARD

1 cup(250ml)pure(thin) cream

(^1) / 3 cup(80ml)milk
(^1) / 2 cup(180g)runny honey
3 eggyolks
2 titanium-strengthgelatine leaves
425gcastersugar
(^1) / 2 cup(175g)liquidglucosesyrup
20g bicarbonate of soda, sifted
Forthehokeypokeycustard,placecream,milkandhalfofthe
honeyina mediumsaucepanovermediumheatandbringto
a simmer.Placeyolksin a large,bowlandwhisktoaerateslightly.
Slowlypourthehotcreammixtureintotheyolks,whisking
constantly.Returntothesaucepanandcook,stirringconstantly,
for10-12minutesuntilthemixturethickensandreaches82°Con
a sugarthermometer.Soakgelatineleavesincoldwaterfor
5 minutestosoften.Squeezeexcesswaterfromgelatineandstir
intothecreammixtureuntilmeltedandcombined.Passmixture
througha sieveintoa cleanbowl,thencoverthesurfacedirectly
witha roundofbakingpaper.Refrigerateuntilneeded.
Tomakethehoneycomb,greasea deepheatprooftrayand
linethebaseandsideswithbakingpaper.Placetheremaining
(^1) / 4 cuphoney,sugar,glucoseand (^1) / 3 cup(80ml)waterina large,
deepsaucepanandbringtotheboil.Cookuntilthesyrup
reaches160°Cona sugarthermometer,thenremovefromheat
andquicklywhiskin thebicarb.Pourmixtureintopreparedtray
andallowtosetfor 20 minutesoruntilatroomtemperature.
Onceset,cutintosmallpieces.Storeinanairtightcontainer.
Half-filla smallsaucepanwithwater,thenaddthesugar,
saffron,lemonrind,vanillapodandseeds.Placeovermedium
heatandcookuntilsugarhasdissolved.Peelthepears,keeping
thestemsintact,andaddtothepan(theyshouldbesnug).
Topupwithextrawarmwatersothepearsaresubmerged.
Placeovermedium-lowheat,bringtoa simmerandcookfor
50-55minutesuntilsoft.Removepearsfromsyrupandsetaside
tocool.Bringpoachingliquidtotheboiloverhighheat,then
reducetolowandsimmerfor20-25minutes until thick and
syrupy.Setasideuntilreadytoserve.
Whenreadytoserve,placechilledcustardinthebowlofa
standmixerfittedwiththepaddleattachmentandbeatuntil
smooth.Dividecustardamong4 servingplates,topeachwith
a poachedpear,drizzleoversaffronsyrupand scatter with
honeycomb pieces. Serve immediately.
I’M LOVING.
44 delicious.com.au