Quince are harvested here in Australia from April to May but can keep in the fridge for up to three months. Quinces are often made into a jelly, paste or sweet desserts but it was from Dimitri who I met in Queensland a few months ago that I got a savoury beef recipeidea for them. I had such success with his lazy housewife's moussaka that I decided to give the quinces a go in the other recipe he gave me, beef and quince with red sauce.
It was actually his description at the end that did it. He described the recipe as "You should have a meal where the meat is tender with a lovely thick red sauce with your potatoes or quince fruit." Doesn't that sound absolutely, insanely luscious? I read the recipe - it seemed simple, actually truth be told perhaps too simple so I only made half a batch of this lest it not work out. I shouldn't have worried. Yes it is easy but it is also wonderfully comforting and full of flavour. The sauce cooks down so that it is beautifully thick but not dry, the beef is so tender and the quinces take only a short time until they too blend into the rubied stew with the soft chunks of melting beef.
A quince is a fruit that you see around the Autumn Winter season and I saw some for $2.49 a kilo so I grabbed them eagerly. They're a great fruit but they can only be eaten when cooked and the skin contains a lot of pectin which is why it is great for jellies and pastes.
A few readers have asked me how the exercise sessions are going with my personal trainer. For the most part they're actually quite fun (I promise that I haven't been drinking) and for the first time during winter I haven't gained any weight which is somewhat of a major miracle. It's not for lack of trying. Every night I sit down to a cup of hot chocolate and a warming meal. But my thrice weekly workouts with my trainer Nina are hard and I often complain the whole time about wanting to go to sleep on the mat that she brings but she won't have a bar of it. "Push!!" she says to me sweetly but firmly.
I am trying to lure her to the dark side though. She told me that she wasn't much of a cook so I've been sending her recipes to make and so far, she's made a success of most of them including her biggest triumph, a flourless chocolate cake. Sometimes she forgets to adjust quantities to suit the amount of items that she has and sometimes I do have to explain some ingredients to her. One day she asked me what I was cooking and I told her that it was a beef and quince stew.
"Oh is that like a bird?" she asked unsure about the quince. I had to giggle, I think she mistook it for quail which was very cute.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you glad that winter is almost over?
Step 1 - Cut the beef into small pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pot with the oil and brown the beef in two batches. Place all of the beef back in the pot and add the tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, cloves and vegetable stock and place the lid on and simmer for one and a half to two hours, stirring occasionally (okay that's a lie, I left it simmering and didn't stir it and it was fine).
Step 2 - Peel and core the quinces and cut them into a similar size to the beef. Place in the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the quince is tender but not mushy.
Note: this can also be done with lamb instead of beef and you can also use potatoes or sweet potatoes (just add a teaspoon of sugar if you're using potatoes).
The best beef stews are made with the right cut of meat, like chuck roast, brisket or round. Leaner cuts (which are good for the grill) lack the connective tissue that turns into gelatin as it cooks. That keeps the meat juicy and tender while also thicken and enriching the stew.
I almost always add some beef bouillon crystals to my stew, it helps oomph (yes, a technical term) the beefiness of the stock. Sometimes also use a few shots of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce - both will also add some oomph to the flavor.
During cooking, the quince will soften, and the hard yellow flesh will turn pink and fragrant. It's a magical thing. They can be poached, roasted and stewed.
But the liquid itself should not be thick in the same way that gravy is thick. So skip the roux, and don't bother dusting the meat with flour or cornstarch before browning, either, as some recipes will suggest. That will just interfere with getting a good sear on the meat, and gum up the stew with unneeded starch.
The Ideal Stew Ratio: Two Parts Meat, One Part Vegetable
Most meat-based stews call for tough, inexpensive cuts of meat, while vegetarian recipes include the same onions, carrots, and celery typical of a beef stew. Two parts meat to one part vegetables is the perfect ratio for a meaty stew.
Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew. Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family.
Peel the quince, then cut into quarters. (Some cooks leave the skin on; I do as well if I'm making jam or mebrillo where it will just melt into the cooked mixture.) Carefully remove all of the tough core from each quarter with a knife. The quince sections can now be used to make poached quince, quince jam…or frozen.
The raw flesh of a quince is creamy white, with a core inside just like an apple or pear. Cooking changes the color: Heat causes the formation of natural pigments called anthocyanins, which will turn the fruit anywhere from light pink to deep, dusky red.
Simmer for 40 to 50 minutes: Cook at a bare simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the quince is turning pink and is tender. Refrigerate in the poaching liquid: When the quince is pink and tender, turn off the heat and either strain and use right away, or refrigerate the quince in the poaching liquid for up to 7 days.
While quinces can be eaten raw, they are not often eaten raw due to their tartness and tough skin. Its flavor is compared to a combination of crisp pears and tart apples. Cooked quinces have a sweeter, more delicate flavor and a softer texture than raw quinces.
While quince do resemble pears, you will most likely NOT enjoy eating them straight off the tree. This is because in “colder” climates such as ours, quince has a tough rind and a hard, bitter, astringent, flesh before it is cooked.
Tough stew meat will take a couple of hours to get tender, and the vinegar helps this happen as well as add special flavor. Then add the onions, carrots, celery, Brussels sprouts etc and cook until the vegetables are the way you like them.
Vinegar & optional red wine - Use red wine vinegar and some red wine to give this stew a deep and rich sweet and savory flavor. The wine is optional and can be replaced with additional beef broth, but I do love the complexity it gives to this recipe.
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
