A couple of years ago while visiting a truffle farm in Christchurch, we came across a laden quince tree where Angela asked Alesha and I how we liked to prepare quinces. Having only prepared quinces a handful of times myself (they’re not exactly a common fruit around these parts of the world), many years ago when I worked as a chef, all I could think of was the usual sugar-laden poached quince recipes of my past. Alesha on the other hand, mentioned she liked to slow-roast them with cardamom and I haven’t been able to get that idea out of my head ever since!
When mum dropped off a big bagful of giant quinces from her friends place recently, I knew I had to get in touch with Alesha to find out more…
Following her genius, I slow roasted the halved quinces until tender before pureeing and adding a cardamom-spiked coconut sugar syrup. At this stage the puree is delicious swirled through a bowlful of yoghurt as Alesha suggested, but seeing the amazing almost jelly-like texture of the roasting juices left in the tray, knowing that their high pectin level would produce a creamy, not-to-icy treat, the idea came to me to turn the dusky pink puree into popsicles.
I know it’s Autumn here in New Zealand and I should really be thinking about soups and stews, but with the uncharacteristically warm weather we’ve had this week, a nice cooling popsicle is exactly what I’ve felt like eating in the hot afternoon sunshine. And these babies really are something quite special. All at once sweet and sour, reminiscent of the tamarind pods we love to eat in Vietnam. Yoghurt brings a little relief from the intensity of the quince, I’ve used thick homemade plain yoghurt, but by all means use your favourite yoghurt either dairy or non.
To make these vegan, simply use your favourite dairy-free yoghurt. If you’re wanting to use as a puree to add to yoghurt bowls instead of popsicles, you might want to reduce the sugar syrup (freezing dulls the sweetness so more is required for popsicles). That said, these popsicles are only faintly sweet and a little bit sour, just the way I like them. If you prefer sweeter, add a tablespoon or two more sugar to the syrup.
Makes 6-8
2 cups roasted quince puree (see notes below)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup cold (filtered) water
3 cardamom pods, bruised
1/2 cup natural plain yoghurt (dairy or dairy-free)
Prepare quince puree first. In a small saucepan combine sugar, water and cardamom and bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer 1-2 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and set aside 5 minutes. Remove cardamom pods (but leave seeds (not pods) in if you have a high powdered blender) and add to a blender with quince paste, yoghurt and a pinch of fine sea salt. Blend on high until smooth. Spoon the thick mixture into 6-8 popsicle moulds (depending on their size), tapping moulds onto the bench-top to remove some of the air bubbles, insert wooden sticks and freeze 4-6 hours or until frozen. Run moulds under warm water to help release popsicles.
Roasted quince puree
4-5 large quinces, halved lengthwise
Preheat oven to 160C (320F). Arrange quince halves onto a lipped oven tray, add a little water to the tray- approx 1/2 cup- and roast 3 1/2 -4 hours or until deeply coloured and tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Scoop out the tender flesh, discarding the seeds and skin. The leather-like tops (the cut sides of the quinces) are delicious eaten as a sweet/sour treat. Transfer peeled quinces and any jelly-like roasting juices to a blender and blend on high until smooth. A high powered blender is ideal but not 100% necessary. If you can’t get a super smooth puree, simply pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.
3 Responses
Yumm! Nice blog you have:)
Thank you! 🙂
Look at your picture I thought it is peach! I just eat quinces two times and I really love their flavor. And Ice cream!!! Can not deny when summer comes, will try this recipe as soon as possible!