Perfect pumpkin
ACOMMON theme on
MasterChef Australia
this season has been the use of vegetables. And that has worked perfectly so far for Newcastle baker Reece Hignell (right).
The cook, who has a plant-based diet, loves to experiment with vegetables — particularly pumpkin, which is the focus of tonight’s challenge: 90 minutes to cook three dishes that feature pumpkin in some way.
“What is there not to like about pumpkins?’’ Hignell says.
“It’s one of the most versatile vegetables you can get and it’s so tasty. At first it was a bit weird to be in a challenge but straight away I was so excited.
“I think about all the different experiences I’ve had with pumpkin.
“When I grew up my nan made this pumpkin pie and I had a lot of pumpkin for dessert. It’s so versatile. When we first got the challenge I was a bit unsure, (thinking about) what to do, but I remembered there’s a lot you can do.”
While Hignell has shared his best pumpkin recipes with Hibernation, he is also fond of using lemon in food.
“I do cook with pumpkin a lot but my No. 1 favourite ingredient is lemon,’’ he says.
“I make beautiful lemon cakes and my signature thing that I make is the lemon tart.”
Hignell, who is close friends with fellow contestant Brendan Pang, said he was filled with nerves going back into the MasterChef kitchen.
“I love competition a lot and everyone who goes on one of these shows, you go on with a competitive nature,’’ he said.
“We signed up to a season called Back to Win so we are all really competitive. It’s hard when you put 24 likeminded people together and we all share the same interests and love what we do.
“I was excited to go back to compete but all in all I had such a good, well rounded experience this time. I loved every moment, what I was able to create, the new judges and the new format — it was really refreshing.”