Recipes

Chosen from The Vegetarian Option by Simon Hopkinson, he writes "There is a fairly rare eau de vie de coing (French for quince), of which a small amount may be added to some very cold, lightly sweetened whipped cream to serve with these delicious quinces."




Serves 2 (with seconds)

    2 quinces, about 600g, washed and quartered lengthways
    8 tbsp pure maple syrup
    1 tbsp lemon juice
    5-6 grindings white pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Cut the quinces lengthwways into quarters, using a sharp knife. Place in a lidded oven dish, which will accommodate the pieces snugly. Pour over the maple syrup and lemon juice and grind over the pepper. Mix together with a spoon.

Put on the lid and bake in the oven for about 1 hour, occasionally turning the quinces through the syrup and basting, until they are tender and a gorgeous golden brown colour. Serve warm, with whipped cream flavoured as suggested above, if liked.