My Market Kitchen’s Lynton Tapp grew up in the Roper River region of the Northern Territory, on a cattle station with his parents and two sisters. Inspired by living in the outback, Lynton developed a love for producing his own food, cooking over a campfire and learning about native Australian produce.
For winter, Lynton believes it’s all about pears and quadruple alliterations. His Saffron and Pink Peppered Poached Pears recipe is not only a tongue-twister, but the perfect way to finish off a dinner party with family and friends this season. You can find beautiful pears and Spices at Shane’s Fruit and Gewuzhaus Herb and Spice Merchants at the Queen Vic Market.
Ingredients:
6 firm, ripe pears such as conference pears
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 tbsp honey
Pinch of saffron
1 tsp pink peppercorns
Peel of 1/2 lemon
1/2 stick of cinnamon
Water
Whipped Cream of Crème Fraiche to serve
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. In an oven proof dish, large enough to hold the pairs, combine the sugar, honey, saffron, peppercorns, lemon peel, cinnamon and enough water to fill the pot half full. Gently heat over a stove to dissolve the sugar and honey , remove from the heat.
3. Peel your pears and place straight into the poaching liquor, place a cartouche over the top and top with a lid before placing into the oven and cooking for 1.5 hours or until the pairs are tender when a skewer is inserted. Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool until just warm before removing the pears and reducing the poaching liquor to a thick syrup.
4. Place the pears into a serving dish and pour the reduced liquor over the top and serve with whipped cream or crème fraiche.
Lynton Tapp’s culinary journey from camp cook to a classically trained chef has inspired his decadent Australasian flavour palette, which was evident when he was runner up on MasterChef Australia 2013. Lynton loves cooking with fresh, in-season local produce and features some of the best on Network TEN’s My Market Kitchen with good friend Emma Dean.