Roasted mandarins with ginger custard

SERVES 4 -6

Roasting mandarins intensifies their sweetness – they’re delicious served warm or cold with this ginger-infused custard. Or mix it up a little and drizzle cold custard over warm fruit.

220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar 6 mandarins, peeled and halved horizontally

Thinly peeled rind of 1 mandarin and juice of 2 mandarins

Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 lemon

Crushed ginger snap biscuits, to serve

GINGER CUSTARD

2 egg yolks

40 gm caster sugar

150 ml milk

150 ml pouring cream

1 tbsp finely grated ginger

1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Scatter sugar in a roasting pan. Press cut sides of mandarins into sugar and stand until sugar dissolves and forms a thick crust (5 minutes). Turn mandarins cut-side up. Combine citrus rind and juices and 2 tbsp water in a jug, pour around mandarin, then roast, turning and basting occasionally with pan juices, until juicy and beginning to caramelise (20-22 minutes).

2 Meanwhile, for ginger custard, whisk egg yolks and half the sugar in a bowl until pale and thick (2-3 minutes). Bring milk, cream, ginger and remaining sugar to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to dissolve sugar. Pour hot cream mixture over yolk mixture, whisking continuously, then return to pan. Cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat until mixture thinly coats the back of the spoon (2-3 minutes). Strain into a serving jug.

3 Serve roasted mandarin drizzled with custard and scattered with crushed ginger snaps.

Roasted mandarins Bowl from Crave Wares. All other props stylist’s own. Polenta-crumbed chicken All props stylist’s own.Broccoli cheese Plate from Nikau. Decanter and glass from Crave Wares. All other props stylist’s own. Stockists p168.