downunder update

The most popular way to cook a quince is to bake it. Once you have the little beggars baked you can choose from all sorts of ways to serve this culinary delight but, I implore you, don’t try and take a bite from a quince until it’s cooked!

Let me disclose the secret ingredient in my Great Aunt Bessie’s excellent baked quince slices - sweet wine.

What you need

• Some olive oil
• 2 -3 Quinces, peeled, cored, and chopped into wedges
• Half a cup of honey
• Sage to flavour
• 2 cups plonk (sweet wine) such as Barossa Sweet Muscat, Moscato, Sangria or a nice sweet sherry

What you do

• In a pan or skillet, heat the oil and toss the quince wedges until golden, about 5 minutes
• Add the honey, sage and a third of the plonk and bring to boil
• Pour into a covered casserole dish and place in a medium oven
• Bake for 30 mins then add another third of the plonk
• Bake again for 30 mins and then pour in the rest of the wine
• Take off the lid and let the quinces bake about another 30 minutes. This takes approximately 1 and 1/2 hours total
• Remove from oven and let it all cool

Suggestions

Soft roasted quince wedges can be used for a number of dishes, wrap them in salty prosciutto as an appetizer, add them to an apple pie for a warm and hearty dessert, serve chilled with icecream or custard.