Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Quince compote and spices

I simply adore quince. As a child I ate it raw with a pinch of salt. A fond memory. I like to bake it in the oven, as in here, or on pan fried on the stove like here or a crumble like here. Today I made a simple compote that is delicious with a scoop of créme fraiche or even ice cream. It can be served with duck or chicken or how about pork, giving you that sweet sour taste. It is so easy to make, a proper seasonal fruit and along with some spices, falls right into perfection for autumn. I give relative quantities. The best way is to find your own path, taste and adjust and add as you go along.

Small wild quince.

Recipe:

  • 2 large quinces
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 star anis
  • tsp red peppercorns (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • grated nutmeg
  • a pinch of fleur de sel
  • 500 ml water
  • 350 ml sugar
  1. Peel the quinces, cut off the ends and cut into pieces along with the core and seeds.
  2. Add to a bowl and drizzle liberally with lemon juice.
  3. Sprinkle with the spices and fleur de sel and add to a casserole, along with the lemon juice.
  4. Add the water and sugar and simmer gently for about 45 minute or until the water has dissolved and the quince are tender. Dont stir too much if you dont want a puree.
  5. Remove the cinnamon stick and the star anis after 15 minutes of cooking.
  6. Sterilize 2 canfruit bottles and pour in the hot quince. Let it cool and store in the fridge.

Pinch of salt.

  • Tplace the spices with a vanilla pod, seeds scraped out and pod and seeds addd to the quince.
  • If you dont like the seedsand core of th quince, add them to a little bouquet garni muslin pouch and remove at the end of cooking.
  • The seeds and core are important for the red coloring of the quince and they are full of gelatin which helps to thicken the syrup.
  • Replace the lemon juice with orange juice.
  • Dont worry about the coloration of the quince when you peel it. It is normal. Add some lemon juice, but it wont stop the coloration completely.
  • Add some apple pieces to the quince mixture for variation.
Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Pineapple flambéed with cointreau

I love to do this recipe with peaches in summer. But since we’re now at the end of summer, the peaces have finished and we opt for other fruit. Pineapple, with its slightly tangy taste is a good substitute for peaches. See this post for a grape version.

Recipe:

  1. 1 large pineapple
  2. juice of 1 lemon
  3. 1 vanilla pod
  4. 50 ml sugar
  5. 2 TBSP butter
  6. 50 ml Cointreau
  7. 200 ml greek yogurt
  8. 200 ml mascarpone
  • Add the sugar, butter and lemon juice to a saute pan.
  • Cut the pineapple into bitesize pieces.
  • Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds.
  • Add the pineapple and vanilla seeds with the seed pod to the sugar mixture in the pan.
  • Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the pineapple starts getting tranlucent and the syrup gets thick.
  • Pour 50 ml of Cointreau over the pineapples and set alight to flambée the mixture.
  • When the flames have died down,remove the vanilla pod and leave the pineapples to cool down slightly.
  • Mix together the greek jogurt and mascarpone until smooth.
  • Serve the pineapple still warm with a dollop of jogurt and mascarpone.

Serves 6

Cut the pineapple into bite size pieces.

Pour some Cointreau or Armagnac over the hot pineapples.

Set alight to flame.

To set food alight, is something everybody always enjoy. With ooh and aahs, mesmerized by the flames licking the food, we stare at the show. It can of course be very dangerous and not at all should children be allowed to do it. For those inexperienced, don’t do it like you see chefs doing it on television with big drama and whooshing  flames up to the ceiling. With 50 ml of alcohol at 40 percent, you already get a spectacular flame. Don’t lean over the casserole you are about to flambé and stand far enough away, but still close enough to have control on what you are doing. You can pour a little alcohol into  stainless steel soup ladle with long handle to heat up directly over a flame and light up, then pour the burning alcohol over the pan for effect. Or you can add the alcohol to the warm grapes and then set alight. In both cases, switch off all other gas flames on the stove, stay away from candles and any other flames. If you feel unsure, skip the flambé step. just pour in the Cointreau alcohol over the grapes and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes for the alcohol to cook off. Enjoy and be safe above all else!