Winter in season with Mike McEnearney

The acclaimed restaurateur, chef and creative director of Sydney's Carriageworks Markets talks-up the fruits of winter and what he likes to do with a couple of them.
 
Chef and restaurateur Mike McEnearney has long been a vocal advocate for seasonal produce. Well respected for his ethos in using seasonal and local ingredients — be it at the new No.1 Bent Street or famous Kitchen by Mike canteen concept. But the chef's passion found a perfect home when he was appointed creative director of Sydney's Carriageworks Farmers Markets in 2015. With that in mind, ninemsn Kitchen caught up with him to get some tips on his favourite produce in season right now.

"Winter for me is all about lovely heart-warming dishes," says McEnearney. "With the colder seasons come the gorgeous dark leafy greens, in particular cabbages. I like to stuff the leaves of a gently wilted cabbage with a beautiful mix of pork, onions, garlic and herbs. Then I bake it in a slow oven for three hours, and slice it into wedges with some chestnuts."

Abundance and variety are not the only benefits of seasonal produce. Fruit and vegetables are at their flavourful and nutritious best when grown in naturally accommodating conditions, and McEnearney confesses to a love of orchard fruits at this time of year — starting with one of the more notoriously tricky ones. 

"My all-time favourite fruit is quince. As a special treat, I bake them slowly in the oven overnight with honey, star anise, thyme and a splash of white wine. Then you wake up in the morning, to a glorious purple slice of fruit, it's delicious with yoghurt for breakfast or put into muffins."

Staying in the orchard, some pear varieties come into their own in winter, including blushing Corella and lime green Packham's Triumph.
 
"Pears are a wonderful winter fruit, and I really like to preserve them," says the chef.

"Cooking and preserving with fruit that is in season and in abundance is the best way to stock up your pantry, and something people have been doing for decades, especially in the days when you couldn't buy fruit out of season."

McEnearney recommends purchasing in bulk while the fruit is at its best.

"I buy a plethora of good produce, bottle it up and put it away to eat in the off-season.

For bottled pears, I peel a number of fruits, pack them into Kilner jars and cover with a 50/50 stock syrup, then I add a split vanilla pod, bay leaf or whatever flavours you wish, and steam for 3 hours. The slow, gentle steam cooks the pear and helps to preserve it." 

To make sure the pears keep at their best; "Turn the jar upside down when you remove them from the steamer to form a strong vacuum. Your pears will happily sit on the shelf for many, many months until you are ready to enjoy them. A poached pear with a bit of chocolate sauce is always a special after-dinner treat."

In season now:

Winter fruits

• Apple
• Cumquat
• Custard apple
• Grapefruit
• Kiwifruit
• Lemon
• Lime
• Mandarin
• Nashi 
• Orange (navel and blood) 
• Pear
• Persimmon
• Pineapple
• Quince
• Rhubarb
• Tangelo

Winter vegetables

• Asian greens
• Avocado
• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Celery
• Fennel
• Horseradish
• Kale
• Leek
• Parsnip
• Potato
• Pumpkin
• Silverbeet
• Spinach
• Swede
• Sweet potato
• Turnip