For me quinces are Autumn! I do not have a childhood memory of Autumn without them. We had a few quince trees on the farm and every Autumn the Aga stove top would become a stewed quince factory... we made poached quinces to have for breakfast and with meals and loads of quince paste and jam to last the year. The smell of quinces cooking in a home is one of the best.
Here are a couple of quince recipes that are delicious and really easy...but just remember... once you go quince you never go back...
Poached Spiced Quinces
you will need...
4- 6 large quince
1 vanilla bean
2 cinnamon quills
1/2 teaspoon of juniper berries (you can substitute in peppercorns here)
1/2 teaspoon of cardamon
1 tablespoon of star anise - about 5 stars
2 cups of white wine
1 cup of madeira
water
to make...
This is really easy... if you have a good knife! Quinces are notoriously hard to cut. Quarter, core, peel and slice your quinces. They will brown a bit but this will not change the taste. To prevent this squeeze the juice of a lemon into some water and put the quinces in. Just rinse them before using... AND keep the cores and peelings as they are excellent for using to set jam due to the high pectin. I keep mine in the freezer and add to jams as need be...
Next place your cut quince into a heavy based pan and add the wine, madeira and spices and place on low heat for a few hours. I always cook mine on the top of our wood stove but low heat on a regular stove top will also work... all be it slightly less rommantic.
These beauties are ready to eat as soon as the quinces are cooked through... however they are totally divine when stewed right down.
We eat these with yoghurt, with porridge or made into crumble. Just use them as you would stewed apple. This is a twist on a tart that I love to make to using two of my favorite ingredients - walnuts and quinces
Spiced Poached Quince and Honey Walnut Tart
For the Pastry
100g butter
2 cups of plain flour
1 egg
water to combine
|
For the Honey Walnut
filling
2 cups of walnuts
100g butter
½ cup of cup gum honey
2 eggs
Plus one serve of the spiced quinces from above
To make
Put you over on to 200c
Make your pastry by rubbing together the butter and flour.
Then add in eggs and combine. Add enough water to bring together to form a firm
dough. Chill pastry for at least 30 mins before rolling out and blind baking in
a flan dish.
Take your walnuts and dry pan roast them until the oils
begin to release. Remove from heat and cool. In a food processor grind the
walnuts into a fine meal. Add into food processor the butter, honey and eggs
until all combined and smooth.
Assemble your tart by spooning in the walnut mixture into
your blind baked tart base. Bake at 180 – 200 for about 30 minutes until the tart is cooked firm. Arrange the slices of quinces over the top of the
tart and cook for a futher 10 minutes. Rest before serving. (that is you and the tart)
Glaze with a drizzle of honey and serve warm or cold with
rich, thick cream and a lovely cup of tea.
