Quince baked with rosemary, black pepper, lemon and crushed coriander

Winter

The first time I cooked quince like this was in Ibiza in late autumn. We were staying in a very rural part of the north island in a beautiful old finca that sat quietly at the end of an exceptionally rough track. There were dozens of quince trees in the garden, each heaving with ripe, pale yellow, down-covered fruit. It was a little bit of heaven right there, and every morning we’d eat them like this for breakfast. They were so good I packed at least a dozen into my case and took them home to Dorset. They kept right through until Christmas.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large quinces, peeled and quartered
100g (3½oz) light brown soft sugar
Juice and pared zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Place the quince quarters into a medium roasting dish, cut sides upwards. They should all sit quite snugly in a single layer. Combine the sugar with 3 tablespoons of water, the lemon juice and zest, crushed coriander seeds, and the black peppercorns and rosemary leaves. Mix all these ingredients together well and spoon the mixture over the quince. Cover the dish with foil, making sure you crimp the edges up really well so no steam can escape. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the fruit is lovely and tender. Serve with a good blue cheese or a soft goat’s cheese, or with ice cream or yoghurt.

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