This week we’re making use of one of the fruits that’s absolutely bang in
season at the moment, the quince. It’s always one of my absolute favourites, and is always a rare treat as it’s not around for long, and also fairly hard to find.
They are generally not farmed commercially, but you can find them at this time of year in greengrocers and progressive supermarkets.
A few lucky people will have an established quince tree in the garden, and for them it’s a magical time of year, pulling the large pale yellow fruit from the tree and hurrying inside to get cooking.
We always receive a large box of carefully-newspaper-wrapped fruit from Tracy’s mum in Suffolk, and instantly they are peeled, cooked and transformed into a number of delicious recipes.
The quince is a member of the same family as the apple and pear, and looks like the latter, although usually knobblier and more ‘butch’. It’s often scarred on the outside, but when the skin is peeled away - a tough old job, as the skin is thicker than the other fruits in the family - it reveals a blemish-free pale custard-coloured flesh with the texture of a very grainy pear.
It’s a good idea to peel and cut the quince into slightly acidic water (half a lemon usually does the trick) to avoid too much browning, and you’ll find as the fruit cooks it miraculously transforms from its pale creamy shade to a beautiful deep browny-red.
The fruit softens without ever really becoming mushy, and it has the most wonderful perfumed aroma and flavour, sweet and musky at the same time. It’s a fantastic accompaniment to many things, both sweet and savoury. It’s great with the fattier meats such as lamb and pork, and, given its geographical origins in the Middle East and across North Africa, it’s brilliant in zingy stews with herbs and grains, like tajines or even Biryanis.
Its sweetness goes well with game birds, and even a good rare-breed turkey will benefit from the aromatic influences of the quince. Through North Africa it soon spread up into the Iberian peninsula, and in Portugal and especially Spain it is much used, mainly in the fantastic Membrillo, a thick and sticky paste or ‘cheese’ of quince pulp and sugar, which sets into a hard block that can be sliced thinly and served with cheese, especially the wonderful salty, tangy Manchego.
A block of membrillo is always in my fridge, ready to be diced into sauces or stuffings, or simply served with the cheeseboard after dinner. It makes a cheese toastie something rather special too.
Dessert-wise, I find it a little too powerful on its own, but combined with the other pipped fruits it makes brilliant bases for Tarte Tatins and crumbles, or even just served warm as a compôte with a scoop of excellent vanilla ice-cream or a baked rice pud.
I had something special in mind for the first quince of the year, though. I’ve been toying with the idea of baking a whole brie-type cheese in pastry with some fruity element for a while now, and the arrival of the quinces plus a delivery of small British camemberts from my man in Birkby meant that there was no time like the present to get working on things.
I can rarely be bothered with the faff of ‘proper’ puff pastry, but a rough puff works every bit as well in this recipe.
The idea is to wrap and seal the cheese, topped with slices of the poached quince, then glaze and bake it to golden crisp perfection.
At the table, when cut, the aromatic molten cheese bursts forth, and you dive in immediately, scooping up the runny cheese with the pastry.
The quince adds a wonderful flavourful contrast, its perfume cutting through the deep savoury taste of the camembert, and a small accompaniment of nicely bitter salad leaves balances things up perfectly.
FOR THE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY:
225g plain flour
140g butter, diced into 1cm cubes
Pinch of fine salt
Approx. 130ml cold water
FOR THE QUINCE:
2 large quince
The juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 vanilla pod, split
500g sugar
500ml water
EXTRAS:
1 small camembert or brie (about 180g)
A few bitter salad leaves (chicory, radicchio, frisée)
A little vinaigrette
1 egg yolk
METHOD:
First, make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, and toss in the cubes of butter. Don’t rub them in, but just start adding the water and binding everything together with a knife, until you get a nice soft dough.
Using your hands, quickly knead the dough into a neat ball, then wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for quarter of an hour. Flour a work surface well, and roll out the dough into a strip 30 by 10cm.
Work quickly, trying not to overstretch the dough and allow the butter to break through.
Fold the top third of the pastry down to the centre, and the bottom third up and over the folded top third, making a neat square parcel. Turn this 90 degrees, and roll out again, then repeat the folding process. Chill the parcel for 10 minutes, then repeat the double rolling and folding another two times. If the butter is still visible in large streaks, roll and fold once more. Wrap in clean clingfilm and chill until required. As the pastry chills, poach the quince.
In a non-reactive pan, gently heat the sugar and water, along with the, vanilla pod, lemon juice and grated zest. When it comes to the boil, reduce to a low simmer. Peel the quince, and cut into quarters lengthwise.
Carefully remove the pips and central membrane, and place into the pan.
Cover the fruit with a disc of greaseproof paper, and poach gently, stirring occasionally, for about half an hour, or until a knife goes through the quince easily.
Strain, reserving the juice for future use (it’s great with champagne as an autumnal kir, or can be used in vinaigrettes) and cool.
To assemble the dish, finely slice the quince into slivers, and pile these on top of the camembert. Roll out the pastry to about 1/2cm thickness, and cut a disc about 25cm in diameter. Gently place this over the cheese, and smooth down the sides. Quickly flip the parcel, and fold in the pastry to seal the parcel, pinching it if necessary. Turn it back over and smooth it again, then chill.
Heat the oven to 190oC / Gas 5. Beat the egg yolk and brush it on top and down the sides of the pastry, then place the parcel on a floured baking tray. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until it is golden and risen.
Serve immediately with a lightly-dressed salad of bitter leaves.
