The ultimate summer dessert, fresh from the Gascoyne

Serve up Chef Russell Blaikie’s fresh and fruity dish using seasonal Carnarvon produce.
This year festive menu-planners can put the best of local produce delivered straight from Carnarvon on their shopping list. Sweet and juicy grapes, divine mangos, delicious paw paw, refreshing melons and creamy bananas are going to be available throughout the summer. Plus the regions stalwarts of top quality rangelands beef, goat and incredible seafood including prawns, crabs and fish.
Perth shoppers will be able to get plenty of inspiration by watching Channel 9’s Delish show, airing on Saturday December 2 at 7pm. The special, which is solely focused on the Gascoyne, will inspire viewers with an in-depth look at the local farming industry and the incredible food of the popular Gascoyne Food Festival.
Alongside presenter Scott Taylor, Chef Russell Blaikie of Must Winebar hosts the one hour feature that has been filmed over two visits to the region. To celebrate the new-season fruits, Russell has also created an amazing dessert recipe for Carnarvon Fruit Mess.
“I have travelled to the Gascoyne region for over 5 decades with my family and I’ve always been blown away by the quality of produce that we’ve sourced from the region on our visits. Swift transport pathways and market systems mean that this amazing produce is also available in our local shops.
“Fruit and vegetables grown in Carnarvon have a unique sun-drenched flavour and sweet ripeness. The growers along the banks of the Gascoyne River are fanatically committed to producing high quality, beautifully flavoured fruit and veg.
“And then there’s the abundance of the waters of Shark Bay…Blue Manna Crabs, Whiting and Pink Snapper are some of my favourite seafoods, and at Must Winebar I only use prawns caught in this world heritage listed area…they are snap frozen on the boat within 30 minutes of being caught….this really sums up the food produced in the Gascoyne region..it just doesn’t get fresher than this!” said Russell.
In order to celebrate the start of the season, Perth residents can go in the draw to win a fantastic hamper valued at $500. The hamper will be filled with fresh Gascoyne produce and lots of other festive goodies to help feed a crowd. To enter go to Gascoyne Food’s facebook page between the 1st and 8th of December.
RECIPE: Carnarvon Fruit Mess
Feel free to pick and mix the components to make it your own!
Ingredients for a dessert for 6 people
1 wedge Carnarvon watermelon, cut 6 thin slices, and cut the rest into large dice or ball with melon baller
1/2 Carnarvon rockmelon, cut into large dice or into balls with a melon baller
1/2 Carnarvon honeydew melon cut into large dice or into balls with a melon baller
1/2 ripe Carnarvon pawpaw, cut into slices
500 grams ripe bananas, peeled, diced and frozen
Lime-Gin syrup
Juice and julienne zest of three limes
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
60 ml gin
Passionfruit Jelly
The pulp of three passionfruit
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup water
5 titan gelatine leaves
Mango Custard
The flesh from Carnarvon mangoes, pureed
3 egg yolks
50 grams sugar
10 grams cornflour
Chantilly Cream
300ml whipping cream
50 grams sugar
Some small meringues for garnish
Method:
Lime-Gin Syrup
Bring a small saucepan of water to boil, drop in julienne zest and cook 20 seconds, remove and chill in iced water. Drain and reserve. Bring sugar, lime juice and water to boil, remove from heat and cool. When room temperature, add gin and cooked zest, reserve in refrigerator
Passionfruit Jelly
Bloom gelatin leaves in cold water until they become soft. Place passionfruit pulp, sugar and water in small saucepan and bring to boil. Strain through fine strainer to remove seeds, then place about 1/4 seeds back into the liquid. Return to stove and bring to simmer again. Squeeze excess water from gelatin leaves and add to liquid, simmer until dissolved and pour into thin layer 3-4MM thick onto a plate. Cool in refrigerator.
Mango Custard
Heat mango puree in a small saucepan to simmer, meanwhile whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together. Pour mango puree over egg mix, whisking to combine, place back in small saucepan and cook over low heat until set (approx 85C if you have a thermometer). Strain, cool and reserve.
Chantilly Cream
Beat cream with sugar to soft peaks, reserve in refrigerator
Banana Icecream
Place the bananas into the bowl of food processor, blitz to a creamy consistency, reserve in freezer.
To put it all together:
Place Chantilly cream into large bowl, add a generous amount of meringues into the bowl (reserve some for garnish) and add several generous scoops banana ice cream.
Place a large dob of the cream onto the plate, garnish with the entire range of fruits, pipe mango custard around the plate, drizzle with lime syrup and drape with pieces of the passionfruit jelly.