Baked Quince With Yoghurt

evelyn/athens's Note:

The quince turns a lovely pinkish colour when baked. The yoghurt gives a cool - tart contrast to the sweetness of the fruit. The walnuts add crunch. Delicious - especially in winter.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 large quinces
• water
• 1/3 cup honey (if you have Greek thyme honey, definitely use it!)
• 3 -4 tablespoons fresh-squeezed and strained lemon juice
• 2 cups strained Greek yogurt or 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped lightly toasted pine nuts or 1/2 cup walnuts
• cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Peel the quinces and halve lengthwise.
3. Using a sharp paring knife or spoon scoop out the core and seeds.
4. Place the quince cut side down on a shallow baking sheet.
5. Pour a little water into the pan to keep the quinces from burning.
6. Combine the honey and lemon juice and pour evenly over the quince.
7. Bake, uncovered, until tender, about 45-60 minutes (depending on the size of the quince).
8. Remove and cool.
9. Place each quince half on a small serving dish.
10. Combine the yoghurt with 3 tablespoons reserved honey and stir gently to blend.
11. Fill with a tablespoonful or two of yoghurt or sour cream.
12. Drizzle with any of the honey-syrup left from baking the quince and serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Reviews

[Kasha]

I served this without the yogurt, but that would be good too. My first experience with quinces. They are very hard to cut in half and even harder to core. I found that I thought I had cored them but hadn't and wound up cutting them off the remaining hard core after they were cooked. This was fine, and gave me pretty small pieces of quince rather than whole halves, but I cooked them as halves. I also had to cook them much longer than specified, about an hour, until they were done through. Next time I won't put so much water in the bottom of the pan, I reduced the honey-water mixture in a pot after cooking to get it back to the consistency I wanted. These would be great served with any kind of roast bird or wild boar, if you don't use the yogurt.

[Chef Kate]

I had to sub a pear for the quince and used drained non-fat yogurt--even so--delicious. I can't wait till quince are available. Thanks, Ev!