Maple Roasted Quince With Mulling Spices
Somehow it’s Thanksgiving next week. Welp. How’d that happen? I feel like I’m falling behind in everything. I have no idea what I’m making. There’s a pile of laundry that needs folding. My sleep has been hit or miss. The California fires have really hit home in a big way, and to be honest, I haven’t felt much like cooking. Donating helps. Politics make my stomach dyspeptic. Food comes mostly as an afterthought.
This happens to everyone, and I’m here to tell you it’s ok. If it seems everything I eat is picture perfect, let me assure you that’s a ruse. For breakfast over the weekend when I felt the most I could do was fry an egg, I looked away for a moment too long and the yolk went hard. I started to cry. Obviously, not because of the egg, but the sheer lack of control I feel at the moment. Perhaps you can relate? When I’m sad, I don’t think too much about what I’m eating. I order Domino’s. I put instant miso in a cup and stick it in the microwave. I take whatever leftovers are in the fridge and eat them cold, mindlessly, standing over the sink. It’s important for me to be honest, for my own peace of mind, but even more importantly because sometimes the best we can do is nuke a cup of water ‘til it’s hot. That’s OK. I don’t think we should beat ourselves up about this. We do what we can.
In time, we may turn back to cooking. Last week my friend Nina invited me to come over to teach her how to roast a chicken. She didn’t really need my help, but feeling useful again felt indescribably pleasant. I found my way back doing the dead-easy hits. Roasting vegetables. Slathering butter on toast. More instant miso. Then, last night, I made this simple roasted quince, a fruit I look forward to all year because there’s something a little bit biblical about its appearance: covered in fuzz, so fragrant you can smell them from the next room over. I don’t like to fuss with them too much. Just a quick poach with mulling spices, a drizzle of maple syrup is all they need. I like roasting them after they poach so the insides get puffy like a baked apple while the outside develops a tender, lightly carmelized crust in the oven. Best of all, their color will transform into a deep ruby shade. It’s very satisfying. Not a bad magic trick for a task as easy as baking peeled apples or a potato.
When you feel a little lost, start small. Do one small thing for yourself. Here’s something small I promise you can do. If you can’t find quince, this would work great with pears, too. If that’s all you can muster today, that’s more than enough.
Maple Roasted Quince
Quince can be a little tricky to find, but if you see them make sure they give off their signature perfume. If not, pass. They brown quickly, so have a bowl of water with lemon juice handy.
Ingredients:
3 Medium Sized Quince
4 Cups Water
2 Tbs. Sugar (Coconut Sugar works here, too)
1 Lemon
1/4 Cup Grade B Maple Syrup
1 Cinnamon Stick, broken gently
5 Whole Cloves
3 Whole Star Anise
1 Whole Cardamon Pod, gently crushed
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit.
Fill a medium sized mixing bowl halfway with water. Juice half a lemon into the water. Hold onto the other half. Peel the quince with a vegetable peeler and cut in half. I don’t like to core them because I think they’re prettier left in, but you can take them out if you’re so inclined. Rub each quince as you go with the remaining half a lemon, then add the them to the lemon water while you dispatch the remaining fruit.
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a gentle boil. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom to the syrup. Now add the quince. Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until they’re tender to the tip of a sharp knife.
Transfer the fruit to a baking dish in one even layer with the core side facing up, leaving behind the syrup. Put all the aromatic spices into the dish. Add enough of the spiced syrup to submerge the quince 1/3 of the way, about 3/4 Cup of liquid. Drizzle the maple syrup on top.
Roast the quince for 45 minutes, occasionally basting them with syrup. The quince are done with they’re spoon tender and have turned a deep, caramel, ruby red color.
Serve warm with a spoonful of crème fraîche, yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with more of the spiced maple syrup.
Serves 6.
