Claudia Roden’s Quince Purée
This sweet paste is especially good paired with Parmesan or blue cheese. Serve it as part of a cheese platter, or make as an edible gift this Christmas.
From the book
Med: A Cookbook
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Introduction
You can usually find quinces in Middle Eastern and Asian shops in the winter months. I keep them in the kitchen for days for their heavenly scent, and when I cook them the fragrance fills the house. Eating them like this, simply mashed with a little sugar, is pure joy. I serve the purée with the cream below, or with cheese – it is good with Pecorino sardo, Parmesan or Grana Padano, and with blue cheese or goats’ cheese.
Ingredients
| 3 | quinces (about 1.2kg total weight) |
| 100g | caster sugar |
Method
Wash the quinces, scrubbing them if they have down on their skins. Put them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake them for about 2 hours (the time depends on the size and ripeness of the fruit) or until they are soft enough that you can easily pierce through to the centre with a pointed knife. Leave them to cool.
Peel them, cut them in half and cut out the cores. It is messy but worth it. Put the flesh in a pan and cut it into pieces. Add the sugar and mash with a potato masher. Cook over low heat, stirring for about 5 minutes. Pour the purée into a serving dish and leave to cool, then cover and chill in the fridge.
