Take three: lychees, spanner crabs, pumpkins
This week’s market picks range from the exotic to the everyday but each can be used in creative — and delicious — ways.
This week: the exotic, the familiar and the little-known.
Ancient, subtropical lychees originated in southern China around 1700BC. Chinese goldminers brought them here in the 1870s and commercial production began 100 years later. Now we have the world’s longest season, October to March, from far north Queensland (Cooktown) to northern NSW (Coffs Harbour).
These delicate, sweet fruits, encased in crisp, knobbly pink-red shells, are at farm gates, central markets and locals such as Organic Gold Coast Farmers Market (where they’re organic, and an especially tasty variety).
While pumpkins inhabit every region, local market and many suburban backyards, the season has just begun for soft, moist, sweet-tasting spanner crabs . They inhabit coastal waters from Yeppoon, Queensland, to Nowra, southern NSW and north of Perth, Western Australia, through to October. Commercially, they’re caught wild using dillies (basketlike pots, strictly regulated) and generally sold cooked. If uncooked, buy them live.
Once inexpensive, spanner crabs are costing more as their popularity grows. Gold Coast Fisherman’s Co-op (Wharf 10) sells them; Noosa Fish Providores has them at its factory (Wednesday to Saturday) and at Noosa Farmers Market on Sundays. They’re also at Sydney Fish Market.
On holidays, you could catch your own spanner crabs: see goldcoastbulletin.com.au for the fishing report. To cook humanely (rspca.org.au), refrigerate for a couple of hours or put them in the freezer for 45 minutes; cook in rapidly boiling water (for 400g, 10 minutes from return to boil) and submerge in salted ice water, which sets the meat and enhances flavour. The body and claws yield 25 per cent meat. Blue swimmer crabs, marrons, yabbies, rock lobsters are substitutes.
How to cook them, with Cameron Matthews, of The Long Apron
Pumpkin: One of the humble pumpkin’s best features is that it can be eaten in its entirety — stems, flowers, skin, seeds, flesh. My favourite varieties for versatility and flavour are butternut (technically squash) and jap or kent, both of which grow brilliantly in Queensland. My children love their school’s kitchen garden, where pumpkins are always a highlight.
Chilled roast pumpkin consomme, smoked trout: Warm whole smoked trout 5 minutes in a 100C oven. Remove skin, reserve with bones; seal flesh and refrigerate. In preheated 180C oven, bake (on tray, covered with foil) 1kg butternut pumpkin (peeled, chopped, deseeded), 1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 1 star anise, 2 cloves crushed garlic, until pumpkin is very soft. Cool slightly, blend pumpkin (alone) to a rough mash, fold in trout skin and bones, transfer to muslin-lined sieve over a container, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight to drain consomme. Check seasoning. For each serving bowl: place 1 tablespoon flaked trout, 3 sprigs watercress, ½ pickled onion (bought or homemade), dollop of sour cream. Carefully pour in consomme, avoiding cream and trout to prevent clouding.
Spanner crab: Super sweet, clean and tasting of the ocean, these treasured orange globes are sustainably harvested in the pristine tropical waters off Queensland’s coastline, including the Sunshine Coast, and processed 30 minutes from our restaurant.
Spanner crab, piel di sapo melon, horseradish: Mandoline or carefully slice into long, thin strips a peeled, deseeded piel di sapo (Spanish) melon. Chill. Toss 200g cooked Fraser Island spanner crabmeat with 15ml macadamia oil, sea salt and lime juice to taste. Chill. Place on four serving plates, finely grate 10g peeled horseradish over crab, scatter with finely shredded horseradish leaf or mustard cress. Drape with melon, chill.
Lychees: These delicacies, perfectly pre-packaged by nature, grow on our Clovelly Estate property and can be sourced at farm gates around the rolling hills of Montville and Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. They can be used for both sweet and savoury applications, especially in Asian-influenced dishes. I love sourcing lychees when green — I slightly dehydrate the fruit, then serve as a component of a warm appetiser.
Blackberry and lychee crostata: Sieve together 800g plain and 400g self-raising flour; mix in 600g sugar. Make a well in the centre, add 600g softened butter, ½ cup milk and 12 egg yolks. Combine by hand to the consistency of soft pasta dough. Wrap in plastic; rest 30 minutes in a cool place. Remove wrap, roll to 7mm thickness between sheets of baking paper. Drape over a 22cm fluted tart ring with removable base. In a bowl, combine 150g blackberries with 100g skinned, pitted lychees. Toss with 2 tbsp icing sugar; spread over pastry. Make a lattice top with re-rolled pastry trimmings (3mm thick, cut in 3mm strips). Chill 30 minutes; bake 45 minutes in preheated 180C oven until golden brown. Heat 1 tbsp water, stir in 125g blackberry jam. Brush onto cooked crostata. Cool before removing from tin. Serve with creme fraiche whipped with vanilla and icing sugar.
Cameron Matthews is executive chef of The Long Apron Restaurant and Cooking School, Spicers Clovelly Estate Retreat, Montville, Sunshine Coast hinterland, Queensland
judithelenattakethree@gmail.com