I found this recipe in Plenty More by Ottolenghi, Quince is here and this glorious festive dessert Quince poached in Pomegranate is delicious.
Quinces take on a wonderful red colour while poaching in the pomegranate juice. In the past, quince varieties sold in shops would take hours to cook and this would cause them to go red naturally due to the sugars slowly caramelising. Today's quinces normally take less than half an hour to colic and stay pale; that is, unless they are cooked in pomegranate juice.
2 large quinces, peeled and quartered
800 ml pomegranate juice
70g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped
Shaved rind of 1 large orange, plus 50 ml of juice
2 star anise
65g pomegranate seeds
( seeds from about 1/2 pomegranate
120g clotted cream
2 tsp freshly shredded mint leaves ( optional )
Remove the core from the quince quarters. Discard half of them and tie the remainder in a bundle using a tea towel or muslin. Place the quince in a heavy based saucepan and add the pomegranate juice, sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, orange rind and juice and star anise. Add the wrapped-up cores and bring to the boil. reduce to gentle simmer, cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes, until the quince is soft.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the quince quarters and set aside. Keep the lid off the pan, increase the heat and simmer the sauce for a further 20 minutes or so until thick and syrupy. You should be left with about 75ml.
just before serving, squeeze all the thick juices out of the tea towel or muslin before discarding the core bundle, orange peel, star anise and vanilla. Returne the quince to syrup and gently warm through. Place two quince quarters on each plate, pour over some syrup and serve with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds, a dolllop of clotted cream and a sprinkle of mint, if using.
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