Delaney Mes: Autumn's most versatile fruit (+recipes)

Poached pears and fig with ricotta. Photo / Doug Sherring

Ideas abound for autumn’s most versatile fruit so get poaching, slicing and crumbling.

It's strange to think we were swimming in the sea until Easter but there's no denying autumn is well and truly here. I don't mind the colder weather. I romanticise the impending winter, dreaming of cosy nights with red wine, lots of slow cooking and warm, comforting desserts.

Autumn provides a bounty of produce. For a short season we are treated to feijoas, figs and quince, but for a longer spell we get the pear, one of the most versatile fruits. They are great at breakfast, for dessert or served as a savoury in salads. They are a wonderful addition to a cheese plate, sliced thinly, and are perfect with blue cheese.

When I was thinking of recipes using pears, my list was huge. Adding them to gingerbread, pear tarte tatin, in cakes, or in my favourite wintery fruit salad - golden kiwi, pear, and banana. I've stuck with the classics today, though - poached, in a salad and with a crumble.

When I was in Sydney last year I had some amazing poached pears for breakfast at a cafe in Coogee Beach called Little King. They were served with ricotta and had a home-made granola crumble sprinkled over the top. Poached pears make a great breakfast and it's easy to have a batch sitting in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. They make an equally good dessert.

Nothing screams colder nights like crumble. Classic apple is still a favourite but making the most of autumn's best with pears and feijoas is well worth a try.

The pears don't go quite as soft as apples, and you can have a play around with crumble toppings. The classic oat and butter top is a good one, but there are some great alternatives to make them gluten-free and dairy-free.

My friend, Kelly, has a crumble recipe on her blog, bonnie delicious, which uses hazelnuts, cashews, dates, coconut oil and coconut flour. There's so much scope with crumble. It, like the poached pears, makes for a great breakfast option.

Using fresh produce like this is seasonal eating at its best.

Hunt out your nearest farmers' market to get the best stuff and chat to the growers about the many different varieties of pears and how best to use them.

Try out Delaney's delicious recipes at bite.co.nz - links below

• Pear and prosciutto salad
• Spiced poached pears and figs
• Autumn crumble