Poached Quinces
What do you do with quinces? In the past, I’ve reduced them to a puree, thickened it with sugar and made simple little fruit pastilles.
But a neighbour delivered her total crop of 10 quinces (bad weather etc) and I was in a quandary as to how to use them with no effort. Here’s the resultant recipe that proved quick and easy:
Ingredients:
Half a lemon, juiced.
1 litre water.
250g honey.
250g sugar.
10, quinces, washed.
Method:
Place the husk of the juiced lemon in a pan with the water, honey and sugar. Bring to the boil gently to dissolve the sugar and allow to cool a little.
Quarter the quinces and remove the pips with a dessert spoon before rolling them in the lemon juice.
Place the quince pieces in a flat-bottomed roasting pan, pour over the syrup (having removed the lemon husk).
Cover with baking paper and a tight cover of foil.
Bake at 150C, Gas 2 for 3 hours.
Remove the paper and foil before returning to the oven to colour a little for 20 minutes at 200c, Gas 6.
Remove the quince pieces and reduce the syrup in the roasting pan on the stove top. Pour over the quinces and serve.
My Tips:
These are still mouth-puckering tart and we found the answer was a light crumble topping. Simply rub oats, butter, soft brown sugar (or honey) and crushed hazelnuts together (Proportions are 2:1:1:1 by weight). Spread a few handfuls on baking parchment and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes. With a dash of cream, yoghurt or custard, the crumble-topped quinces were perfect.