°Quince
I’m all for a cooking meme. There should be more recipes on blogs. We do eat, right? A Cornish Pastie recipe at Wrong Side. Here’s one for duck (or chicken) and poached quince - one of my favourites. There’s nothing quite like poached quince - even if it takes some time to poach to that amazing colour, it’s incomparably delicious.
Ingredients:
1 quince
2 tbs sugar
3 cinnamon quills
4 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
½ tsp coriander seeds
2 tbs lemon juice
2 cups water
One duck breast, skin on
½ tsp sea salt
½ ground cumin
1 tbs olive oil
White wine
½ cup julienned leek
½ cup julienned carrot
¼ red onion, julienned
1 bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan, or regular broccoli will do)
more extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Syrup
Peel and core quince and save skin and core to be used later. Slice into quarters lengthways. Place quince, sugar, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, coriander seeds, lemon juice and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly till quince is cooked but still firm. Remove quince pieces from saucepan and add peel and core to the liquid. Boil till liquid becomes ruby coloured then strain into a medium jug.
Duck
Place duck breast in a small bowl and rub in sea salt and cumin. Pour in ¼ cup of the quince syrup and olive oil and leave to marinate for 2 hours. Place marinated duck breast directly into large fry pan on a high heat for approx 2 mins each side so that the meat is sealed. Remove duck from pan and pour in white wine to de-glaze pan. Add quince pieces and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Place the julienned vegetables in a baking tray, add the duck and quince pieces and bake together in a moderate over (170 degrees) for 45 minutes.
Steam or blanch the Chinese broccoli and drizzle with olive oil.
Place the broccoli on a plate, arrange the julienned vegetables on top and the duck breast, sliced, plus the quince pieces. Pour over the remaining quince syrup and serve.
Unfortunately this comes at the very end of North American asparagus season, but it is worth keeping in mind for the future as many people, apparently, have never barbecued their asparagus. It never occurred to me that you could something more with them than boil them and serve with butter or chopped with pasta (hot or cold).
Readers should take note that the thicker the asparagus, the better. Worn out plants produce thinner stalks and they get thinner as the season progresses. Contrary to popular opinion, thick asparagus is not ‘woody,’ but, rather, far more tender and flavourful.
Barbecued Asparagus
Wash asparagus (recommended: fill sink with cold water, put them in, and swish; sort of like how you’d clean a leek)
Put on tray
Sprinkle with olive oil
Put on hot barbecue
Asparagus should be flipped once. Let side develop grill marks; slight burning at the tips is to be expected. Flip and cook until the second side develops grill marks.
Add salt and pepper to taste. The adventurous might consider a slightly splash of fresh lemon juice.
Asparagus Tart
1 Box of puff pastry
1 Block of gruyere cheese
1lb of asparagus
Purchase box of puff pastry. (You either have to be talented or crazy to make your own.) Heat over per instructions on box. Roll out a square to about eight by ten inches. Place on pan. Etch a shallow line about a half inch from the edges aroung whole of pastry. (This will allow it to rise into the crust.) Score rest of pastry with knife or fork. (This prevents air pockets.) Cook until golden brown. Remove from oven.
Place grated gruyere cheese over pastry. Put asparagus (in alternative directions) on cheese. Drizzle with oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until cheese is melted and asparagus is cooked.
Serve immediately.
Craig [July 1, 2006 @ 3:28 pm]
Yum. And, something w/ asparagus and strawberries of all things, though it’ll have to wait for the summer here:
Asparagus salad
6 tbspn vegetable oil
I kg white asparagus (peeled)
250g green asparagus
3 spring onions, sliced on an angle
1/4 bunch coriander, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 piece ginger, finely chopped
4 tbspn dry sherry
2 tbspn soy sauce
Tabasco, salt. Pepper, sugar
250g strawberries, sliced
1 iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat and add the asparagus, spring onions, chilli and ginger. Cook for 5 – 8 minutes. Add the sherry and soy sauce, season with the Tabasco, salt, pepper and sugar. Remove from the heat and stir in the sliced strawberries. Garnish with coriander and serve on a bed of iceberg lettuce.
s0metim3s [July 1, 2006 @ 3:54 pm]
Okay, I want to come home now. For chicken and quince, or actually anything you could cook, or anything I could cook, and failing that just a decent espresso and a rollie on the couch. And stuff. It’s really very nice here, very nice, and the fresh lychees in bunches are great. But I would kill for a home-cooked meal.
I think I have a touch of flu. Sore throated wanderings today around the Grand Palazzo. So much gold.
az [July 1, 2006 @ 7:56 pm]
Yeah, I’m all for barbequed asparagus (the only way to eat it, IMO): but it makes your pee smell funny, doesn’t it?
Jon [July 2, 2006 @ 4:41 am]
Not everyone’s apparently. Then again, most food makes your shit smell bad.
s0metim3s [July 2, 2006 @ 3:15 pm]
here’s one of my faves, it’s a version of chilaquiles, kind of a mexican lasagna.
Get a package or two of corn tortilla (say, 15 or so). Cut them in thirds. Fry them fast in oil so they crisp, 30-60 seconds per side. Put them on a paper towel or over a rack of some sort to drain some of the oil off (I put them on a rack from the inside of a toaster oven and let them drain over an iron skillet, to keep it seasoned).
The filling can be whatever you like. My dad likes them with chicken, tomatos, and jalapeno peppers, he cooks the chicken first. At my place we’re vegetarian, I make the filling with a can of black beans (rinsed and drained), a can of corn (also drained), whatever I have around veggie wise (bit of spinach, tomato, onion), and shredded cheese. Stir that together in a mixing bowl with some kind of sauce. I like to use mole sauce (you may know, but it’s pronounced “MOE-lay”), there’s also canned enchilada sauces that are pretty good or either salsa in a jar or home made salsa. Stir that with the filling, so it’s kinda wet.
Use the tortilla strips like you would lasagna noodles - in a baking pan put down a layer of the crispy fried tortilla strips, then a layer of filling, then a layer of strips, etc. Top layer, sprinkle some cheese and the leftover sauce/salsa.
I like to make this with grated habanero pepper (only half, because I like food spicier than my partner does, if you do this make sure not to rub your eyes for a while or touch anyone’s sensitive parts. I also sometimes will fix a side dish of onions fried with fresh or dried hot pepper, to add to the main dish as a sort of volume knob on spice.)
Bake the pan at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes or so, until it’s crispy and burnt gold on top. Serve with salsa and sour cream/plain yogurt and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.
Nate [July 2, 2006 @ 5:06 pm]
Not sure it’s clear - by ‘peppers’ I meant chilis.
Nate [July 2, 2006 @ 5:08 pm]
The stuff in asparagus that makes your piss smell weird is exactly the stuff that also counteracts the side-effects of MSG — the headaches, dry mouth, etc. Being in Hong Kong, this is useful information for me to have!
jebni [July 2, 2006 @ 6:46 pm]
The only warnings about asparagus I’ve heard have been in relation to sports of a sexual nature, and about the taste rather than the smell. But wow, asparagus counteracts MSG poisoning! That’s amazing, and useful info anywhere. Chicken Twisties with a side of asparagus!
az [July 2, 2006 @ 7:44 pm]