Autumn fruit ideas from the experts

Dan Stock asks a pair of Poms the best things to do with autumn fruit.

The leaves have turned. So have our clocks. There's an ever-brisker chill in the air of the ever-earlier dusk. It's time to pull out the coats and put on the extra doona; autumn is in full swing.

But while we say goodbye to the sun's warmth for many months for Matt Wilkinson and Tony Carroll, two chefs who originally hail from the cold climes of Yorkshire and Liverpool respectively, the cooler weather brings the comfort of memories of home.

The two chefs, who will cook together as part of next month's Tasting Australia festival in Adelaide, are known for championing the seasons; Matt at Pope Joan and Jack Horner in Melbourne, Tony at Jolley's Boathouse by the Torrens River in Adelaide.

And autumn is the season for fruit. For figs and quinces and trees bowing under the weight of plump pomegranates. It's the season of rhubarb and persimmons, too, along with the headline acts, apples and pears.

But what to do with all that fabulous fruit? In this autumn food fight club we've pitted the chefs against each other. Matt's in the savoury corner, while Tony's all sweet.

What will it be? Smashed fig salad or a sweet quince crumble; parsnip and persimmon gratin or custard and fig tart?

Savoury

"For me, figs are number one for autumn," Matt says. "It's such a diverse fruit, but I prefer them as a savoury rather than sweet."

He says figs are an easy addition to add a touch of luxury to a pearl barley salad, simply torn or chopped and added at the end. They add a touch of sweetness to stews - "just throw some in at the last minute so they warm through" - and are great simply done in the pan or on the barbecue.

"Fig and blue cheese is a no-brainer," he says, suggesting tossing pasta in a sauce of torn figs, blue cheese and mascarpone for a cheesy savoury bowl of comfort.

Alternatively, he makes a filo tart of caramelised onions topped with anchovies and finished with torn figs. With some bocconcini or fresh mozzarella and baked until bubbling, you have a delicious sweet salty onion tart with a difference.

Quince: "You walk around the streets and you see so many quince trees loaded with fruit, but no one knows what to do with them," Matt says. "You have to cook them, the lower (temperature) the better."

To transform the knobbly yellow fruit into soft, sweet and bright pink, peel, core and pit the fruit, putting the offcuts into a muslin bag. Place the halved quinces and peel into a stock syrup made of 50/50 sugar and water and bring to the boil. Pour into a roasting tray and leave in a cool oven (110C) overnight. "Pull them out in the morning and you have the most amazing coloured quinces."

Matt then strains off the syrup, boils and reduces it by half. Cool and set, and you have quince jelly. "Quince jelly is one of my secrets for making vegetarian gravy," he says.

To make, caramelise white onions in a 50/50 butter oil mix with a handful of thyme. Once golden, add 2 tbsp of quince jelly, 1 tbsp Vegemite and deglaze with white wine. Add some veg stock (or water) and boil until thick.

"It's the most amazing, gelatinous, sweet gravy," Matt assures. And he also puts quince to good use in a roast chicken to go with that gravy, making a couscous and quince stuffing. To cooked couscous Matt adds shallots, chopped cooked quince, herbs ("any old herbs hard or soft") and finely chopped fennel and stuffs the bird with the mix.

"You then have a beautiful fragrant quince and fennel stuffing side dish to go with your chicken."

Pomegranate: "They really are the jewels of the Middle East," Matt says, adding them to grain salads, a dukkah-spiced, parsley-rich tabouli, fattoush served with brown rice, greens and roasted capsicums, or a simple couscous, rice, or even potato salad enlivened with the juicy seeds.

Alternatively use the pomegranate's tartness to create a chicken casserole. Slowly cook chicken marylands with aromats in pomegranate juice, adding the seeds at the last minute.

"They are texturally interesting and have a sourness to them that makes the fruit more fascinating," he says.

Persimmon: "I saw these being used in San Fran last year and I'm so excited to cook them," he says. "I had one of the most amazing dishes, a parsnip and persimmon gratin, it was simply wow. Garlicky, creamy layers of the parsnip and persimmon, I'm definitely going to try it out this season."

Or serve chopped persimmon tossed through braised cavolo nero, curly kale or other leafy greens and serve with steamed white fish such as rock ling, or flat head.

Pear: "A lot of people don't like the texture of pears, but, like an apple, a beautiful ripe pear is perfect," Matt says.

To a heap of finely chopped white and red cabbage add sliced radish, red onion, toasted fennel and cumin seeds, and pear finely chopped into matchsticks. Dress and finish with some grated parmesan, and you have a great autumn slaw.

Sweet

"I absolutely love summer, that's one of the reasons I moved here," Tony says, "but once we hit the cold weather, I revert to being an old-school Pommy. Love all the pies, my crumble, can't wait to get into it."

And the ultimate crumble is made, naturally, from the heroes of autumn: apples. Tony suggests keeping some stewed apples in the fridge - "stew them down with butter, sugar, maybe some sultanas, dead easy" - so that on a Sunday afternoon, when you can't be bothered starting from scratch, you have the makings of the crumble ready to go.

Blitz some nuts, butter, oats together for the topping, which you use to cover the compote, bake when ready. "It'll take you two minutes to whip up."

Quince: "It's so versatile, breakfast, lunch dinner, it's autumn in an all-round package," says this new-found fan of quince. "I didn't use a lot of it before I came to Adelaide but I love it. The perfume they give off, it's so evocative of this time of year. It says we're out of summer, out of stone fruits and into autumn."

Tony says one of his favourite desserts is pot-roasted quince. Take poached quinces and colour in the oven with brown sugar and dukkah in a roasting tray. Once caramelised and warm, serve with a mascarpone zapped with lemon zest, icing sugar and vanilla topped with biscotti, or crushed digestive biscuits.

"It's great for a dinner party, looks great with the colours, the caramelised pan on the table with a pot of lemon mascarpone on the side. It's simple, you just need to whack it in the oven with butter and sugar on the night."

Rhubarb: "People think of rhubarb as old school stodgy, but I love it, especially if you cook it less, leave some bite to it," Tony says.

Like poaching quince, he says there's no point in cooking up a small batch. "Do up a load and it will keep, pop it on your muesli or porridge in the morning, or use it in desserts."

He suggests poaching the thickly cut stalks in ginger beer for 15 minutes or until it's as soft (or firm) as you like.

"Rhubarb and ginger is a great combination, savoury or sweet," he says.

Reduce the poaching liquid into a syrup and spoon atop the rhubarb, which Tony likes to serve with creme fraiche and fresh strawberries, with ginger snaps crushed and sprinkled over the lot.

Pear: Like many, Tony is a big fan of pear and chocolate at this time of year. "They just work so well together, especially with some flaked almonds atop, or almond ice cream."

Poach your pears - "I prefer Packham or Beurre Bosc, as they hold their shape better and have a bigger window of forgiveness" - in stock syrup (50/50 water and sugar) with a good glug of amaretto.

These almond-flavoured pears make the perfect base for the tart, especially when topped with frangipane and finished with flaked almonds.

Figs: Tony has a simple solution as to what to do with late season figs: cut them in half, sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with honey and grill until oozy. Serve with sweet ricotta and some toasted almonds. Easy.

For something a little more dramatic, he suggests making a puff pastry custard tart and top with a fig bruleed under the grill with icing sugar.

"Custard and fig, nothing better."