For me, there is no fruit more beautiful than quince. If you imagine an over-sized knobby pear, one that is so large that it can barely hold it’s own belly upright, then you can imagine a quince. The exterior is just barely furry which gives it a beautiful muted color. They are an ancient fruit from the old world. As my friend Samantha so eloquently said, “it’s like dinosaurs were nibbling on this fruit back in the day.”
Since eating raw quince has been described as “gnawing on slightly sweet furniture,” I doubt the dinosaurs were nibbling, but the image brings a smile to my face.
The flavor is often compared to pear, but for me it’s much more floral. Almost perfumey. It pairs well with apple and that is exactly what happens in this tart. This recipe comes from Rustic Fruit Desserts, a lovely little book that would likely be overlooked in the bookstore had it not been selected for Gourmet’s Cookbook Club. The book is full of forgotten desserts – buckles, pandowdies, slumps and fools – all delicious desserts that will never win the beauty contest. This tart is pretty enough, but it’s no show-stopper either. That is what powdered sugar is for…
This is a tart for a rainy day. Or if you happen to have pie dough and poached quince in your fridge, it’s a recipe for a foggy morning. It takes time. I use the phrase begrudgingly, but this is quite literally slow food.
quince and apple brown butter tart
1 prebaked 10 inch tart shell, (use your favorite pie or tart dough, or try this one)
poached quince (recipe follows)
3 oz unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped, pods reserved
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 oz (1/2 cup) sugar
1 3/4 oz (1/3 cup) all purpose flour
2 large or 3 medium apples, preferably pink lady, peeled and thinly sliced
Have your tart shell and poached quince prepared before you begin the custard.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make the custard, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scraped vanilla bean seeds and the pods and continue browning the butter. Stir it constantly, making sure it does not burn. If you burn the butter (you will see black specks in the mixture when burnt) throw it away and start again. Once it smells nutty and has turned a caramel color remove it from heat and discard the vanilla bean.
In a heatproof bowl combine the eggs, salt and sugar. Slowly whisk in the brown butter taking care not to curdle the eggs. Whisk to combine and whisk in the flour.
Slice the poached quince in thin slices to match your apples. Arrange the fruit, alternating quince and apples, in a pattern in your prepared tart shell. (You will have more quince then you need.) Pour the custard evenly over the fruit. Do not worry about spreading it out – it will spread as it bakes.
Bake the tart in the middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the custard is firm. Allow it to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
*Use the leftover quince anywhere you would normally use apples or other fruits…cooked int your favorite muffins, atop pancakes or served warm with a scoop of ice cream.
poached quince
This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply Quince. Barbara, the author, adds a cinnamon stick to her poaching liquid, but I prefer to just use water, sugar and lemon juice.
*this recipe makes about 2 cups of poached quince
4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon + the squeeze lemon half
1 pound fresh quince, peeled, cored, quartered, and cut into quarters
Combine water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon half in a sauce pan and heat over high heat until the sugar dissolves.
Add the quince, bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow them to simmer gently until the quince is soft – anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on how high your heat is. The fruit is done when it can be pierced easily with a knife.
Allow to cool before using in the tart.
*Store leftover poached quince in syrup. I like to use the syrup to brush cakes when they come out of the oven.
{ 0 comments }
