At Christmas time in Sydney the season’s gifts are its fabulous fruits. The mangoes are magnificent. The big, pink small-seeded lychees are something else. Dark, glossy, two-bite cherries appear and are gone far too soon, and if you’re lucky there are figs, which are just sublime. But for me, nothing beats a white nectarine. Fresh, luscious and giving, white nectarines are sensational, and even roasted into a chutney to accompany a ham, they are still luscious, but spicy and syrupy too.
Jan
ROASTED WHITE NECTARINES
2 kg white nectarines (about a dozen) stoned and quartered
700 gm red onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 lemon, halved lengthways, pips removed, finely sliced
2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
250 ml cider vinegar
500 gm brown sugar
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place all ingredients except the sugar into a large roasting tin and mix well. Roast for an hour turning the mixture occasionally. Add the sugar and mix through, cooking for a further 30 minutes, turning occasionally to avoid burning as it starts to caramelise. You want the fruit to hold its shape and the mixture to turn syrupy. (If the mixture is still too runny when the fruit is cooked remove it with a slotted spoon, return the pan to the oven to cook the syrup down - watch it carefully though, because it won’t take long – then fold the fruit back in.)