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Poached winter fruit and gingerbread crumbs with lemon thyme mascarpone

Recipes

Poached winter fruit and gingerbread crumbs with lemon thyme mascarpone

By Michael Meredith

35 minutes

Preparation time

1 hour 35 minutes

Cooking time

4 serves

Serves

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Ingredients

2 ripe quince, or 4 firm pears

Stock syrup

Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Juice and zest of 1 orange
1 bay leaf
250g caster sugar
400ml water
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

Gingerbread

150g plain flour
¼ cup rolled oats
½ tsp bi-carb soda
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
75g butter
50g brown sugar
½ beaten egg
100g blackstrap molasses
½ tsp salt

Lemon thyme mascarpone

1 tbsp honey
10g lemon thyme, picked and chopped
250g mascarpone
1 lemon, zest and juice

Method

Stock syrup

  1. Place all of the ingredients into the induction suitable medium gourmet casserole dish.
  2. Cook on medium heat, induction setting 5 and dissolve the sugar into the water for 5 minutes.

Fruit

  1. Peel the fruit and remove the cores. Place into the stock syrup.
  2. Bring to boil on high heat, induction setting 9, then reduce to setting 5. Cover and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes for the quince and between 10–25 minutes for the pears. Check to see if cooked by inserting a skewer or small knife into fruit to see if soft.
  3. Once cooked, carefully remove fruit and reduce stock syrup on high heat, induction setting 8, until slightly thickened and glossy.
  4. Strain back onto the fruit, discarding aromatics.

Gingerbread

  1. Sift together flour, bi-carb soda, salt and spices in a bowl then add oats and combine.
  2. Melt butter, sugar and molasses in a saucepan on low heat, induction setting 4, once evenly combined remove from heat.
  3. Cool slightly for 5 minutes then whisk in the egg.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix to form a soft dough, wrap and rest for an hour in the refrigerator.
  5. Preheat the oven on Fan Plus at 160°C.
  6. Press dough out on a sheet of baking paper to ½ cm thick, lightly roll if needed, then transfer to an oven tray.
  7. Using a fork pierce some holes into the pastry.
  8. Place in the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes.
  9. Once cooked, remove from the oven and cool.
  10. Once cooled, use a knife and cut into small crumbs.

Lemon thyme mascarpone

  1. In a saucepan add honey and lightly warm on low heat, induction setting 3.
  2. Add thyme and remove from heat, let it infuse for 5 minutes.
  3. Mix into mascarpone with lemon zest and juice and refrigerate until serving.

To serve

  1. Carefully slice the fruit and place into a shallow bowl.
  2. Drizzle with syrup, add two quenelles of lemon thyme mascarpone and top with gingerbread.

Applicance Functions

  • Fan Plus
  • Induction Cooktop
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Michael Meredith

Michael Meredith is an acclaimed chef and restaurateur based in New Zealand. Born in Samoa, his earliest food memories are of his mother's pancake stall at a local market in Apia. His latest restaurant, Metita, which opened in late 2023, is a tribute to his late mother and is located in Auckland's SkyCity precinct. The menu at Metita offers a contemporary take on Polynesian and Pacific cuisine, inspired by his childhood. Throughout his career, Michael has been recognized for his inventive use of local and seasonal ingredients. He was the founding chef of The Grove in 2004, and later opened his own multi-award-winning restaurant, Merediths, which operated for a decade. He is also the owner of the Auckland eatery Mr Morris. Beyond his restaurants, Meredith has been involved in charitable projects. He was a co-founder of Eat My Lunch, a social enterprise that helps provide lunches to underprivileged children in New Zealand. He also lends his culinary skills to other causes, such as raising money for the Starship Children's Hospital.