Orange, Poached Quince, and Fennel Salad

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Guess what - I have managed to sneak quince into yet another recipe :)

I made this salad for Thursday's meal and it was born out of the idea of making a wintery salad (and oranges and fennel are one of my all-time favourite wintery combinations) and having something with quince. I guess I don't have to start praising quince again, but they're still in season and go incredibly well with venison or lamb (though they worked just fine with chicken on Friday).

Anyhow, we all know they're all magical and awesome so I'll get to the recipe, shall I :) 

The quantities are what I would use for about 4 people.

Orange, Poached Quince, and Fennel Salad

1 Quince

2 Fennel Bulbs

2 Oranges

1 cup Orange Juice

1 cup Water

2 tbsp Honey

7 Mint Leaves or so

Apple Cider Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, potentially some Dijon Mustard

Peel the quince, then cut it into quarters to remove the core.

Cut the quarters into 3 wedges each and put everything into a pot with the orange juice, water, honey and mint leaves (the liquid should cover the quince, if that's not the case in your pot, add some more orange juice or water).

Bring the liquid to a boil over a medium high heat, then turn it down so it simmers when you put the lid on. Now you have to patient because the quince will take FOREVER! You'll want to stir them every once in a while but apart from that you'll have an hour and a bit or so to get some work done or read an exciting book.

Wash the fennel bulbs, half them and then slice them fairly thinly (I normally aim for something under 5mm, not always successfully but that is the goal). Set aside in a salad bowl.

Cut of the orange peel and then cut out the segments. Put the segments into the bowl with the fennel.

Once you've cut out all the segments squeeze the juice in the bit you're left with (what is that actually called?) into a bowl and use it with the vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing. If you feel like the dressing could do with a bit of a kick then add a very small amount of mustard. 

Season with some salt and pepper if needed.

By now the quince should be ready. You'll know they're ready when they are tender and, when you try them, there is no tannic taste to them anymore if they still taste fairly bitter give them more time.

Once the quince are done, drain the cooking liquid (though that might also make a nice mixer with soda water) and add them to the fennel and orange segments.

Mix everything with the dressing, sit back and relax and enjoy your salad :)

Pasta, Blue-Cheese Sauce & the Amazingess of Quince Cheese

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Ok, I admit it, I am blatantly dreaming of pasta right now :)
But don't worry, at least you get a lovely pasta recipe out of it.
Most of you know about my slight obsession with anything made from quince and with the seasonal calendar thing for the UK (do I look like I know when things are in season in this country?!?!) telling me that quince season is only a couple of weeks away I am now not only dreaming of pasta but also of quince :)
Today's recipe was dinner a few weeks back when I was staring at my fridge and there wasn't much staring back. But, there was a bit of roquefort begging to be used up and there was a square of quince cheese that had been sitting there for a couple of days as well. So the idea was born.
If you're not familiar with quince cheese, don't worry, neither was I  until my lovely cheesemonger offered me some. It's basically quince stewed with lots of sugar for pretty much forever (ok, I'm exaggerating) that is then allowed to set. I remember eating quince cheese or dulce de membrillo covered in sugar as a kid (oh, the pure bliss I missed out on by not knowing how amazing it tastes with blue cheese!!!!), but back to the pasta!

Pasta with a Blue-Chesse Sauce and Quince Cheese
Blue Cheese
Cream
White Wine
Salt
Pepper
Stock Cubes
Pasta
Quince Cheese

Make a quick and easy blue cheese sauce (nothing fancy, just make sure you use enough blue cheese so it tastes quite intense)
Boil enough pasta to feed a small army :)
Mix the pasta with the sauce, then chop the quince cheese into cubes and sprinkle them on top.
See, that was easy!
Enjoy with a glass of wine think of what else quince would go with :)

Quince Buckwheat & Spelt Pancakes

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©Anna Blanch

I should really start writing about something other than brunch and cake....but aren't they some of the best things in life?
Anyhow, as promised, here's the pancakes we made a couple of weeks ago when Anna was staying with me for the weekend (I'm sorry I was such a boring host!)
We made them with apples this time but they work better with quince, so if you can find some awesome, otherwise, a rather tart apple should work as well, we had Braeburn and they didn't quite work...
I originally got the recipe from Kim Boyce's 'Good to the Grain' which, if you're into whole grain baking is like food porn :)
Pancakes....the original recipe uses pears and if you ever tried to feed me pears you will know that I'd rather write a chapter than eat pears....but I had these amazingly fragrant quince sitting in my kitchen that I only bought because I love the smell so much (though...quince curry.....hmmm....) and because they remind me of my grandparents garden when I  was little (I had a quince tree there).....and somehow the quince ended up in my pancakes.
The way I like to have those pancakes made my mum shake her head but try it, and you'll understand why this is my favourite breakfast in the world!

Quince Buckwheat & Spelt Pancakes
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole-grain spelt flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
11/4 cups soy milk
1 egg
1 large quince (though I'm guessing if you have your own tree you'll need two...) peeled just before you're ready to start

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. I know this might seem tedious but it's really worth the effort! Your pancakes, or any baking for that matter becomes a lot lighter and you don't have to worry about lumps as much.
In a large bowl, whisk the butter, soy milk and egg together and grate the quince into the mixture (quince discolour quite a lot if you grate them in advance, so I'd really only grate them when you need them).
Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Don't overbeat at this step otherwise your pancakes will go this weird rubbery texture....
Now you get to have fun!
Heat a pan over medium heat and rub it with butter (Kim Boyce points out that using lots of butter is what makes the edges go all crisp and buttery....which makes sense but until she pointed it out I never thought about it.....so go for the 'it's brunch....it doesn't count' attitude :) )
Go for about 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake.
Once you get those awesome bubbles at the top of the pancakes, flip them and keep cooking until the bottom is a lovely golden colour.

©Anna Blanch

So back to them being my favourite breakfast in the world.....
A while ago I felt like experimenting so I added some poached eggs, some steamed apples, some grated cheese, and some agave syrup......you know how some dishes just feel like a party in your mouth? Well this is like a slowdance with an incredibly cute guy.....the egg yolks just melt in with the creaminess of the cheese which contrasts the tartness of the apples just to be balanced by the mellow sweetness of the syrup......


Steamed Apples
You'll need 1 apple per person. I prefer tart, crispy apples for this.
Peel the apples, core them and cut them into quarters, then you slice each of the quarters into pound coin thick slices.
Here's where my laziness takes over....stick them into a microwaveable dish, cover and microwave them until they're tender but not falling apart. If you're just making enough for yourself that'll take 2 minutes, if you're going for 3 or 4 apples it'll probably take more like 5 minutes....just keep checking.

You know how to grate cheese....but I've tried it with different types of cheese and you get the nicest effect with a not to mild slightly nutty cheese. Fine, a mature cheddar from your supermarket might work as well....but go and make your local cheesemonger happy!

©Anna Blanch