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Washington, DC, United States
"A rose is a rose is an onion." -Ernest Hemingway

10.6.09

Quince Tart Tatin

Quince are an odd fruit: they look a bit like an overgrown lemon, smell a bit like a banana, and, when cooked, taste like a tart apple-pear hybrid. What's not to love?

Quince on Foodista

I first tried quince in DC; they were included in an apple pie. I loved the combination, but wanted to use quince as a featured ingredient in a dish, to give myself a better sense of the fruit's own unique flavor profile.

For one 10" tart, you'll need:

+ 1 10" round of pâte feuilleteé
+ 3-5 quinces (look for firm fruits and bright yellow skin)
+ butter, 4 tablespoons
+ sugar, 2/3 cup
+ salt, pinch

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel, core, and slice the quince. You should end up with about 4 cups, or enough for a single layer of fruit in a 10" skillet. Melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet*, add the quince and salt, and saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Remove fruit from pan.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the sugar. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly until the sugar melts and a caramel forms. Remove from heat.

Gently and carefully arrange the quince slices in a single layer in the skillet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, top with the puff pastry, and bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven; cool for at least 10 minutes.

Invert onto a platter. Use tongs or other utensils to move any quince slices which stuck to the pan to their proper place. If the fruits look a bit "too dark," fear not: they're simply deeply caramelized and sweet. Traditional, apple-based tart tatins are served with a dollop of crème fraîche-- however, this isn't exactly a "traditional" dish, is it?

Enjoy!

* You can certainly use any skillet with an oven-safe handle, but a cast iron pan will impart more flavor and color to the dish.

4 comments:

  1. Gorgeous recipe you are right I bet quince and apple pie tasted lovely, great blog. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great blog! Awesome recipe too. Sarah, I'd love to guide our readers to your site if you won't mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget here to this post and it's all set to go, Thanks! - Alisa@Foodista

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alisa: Thank you! The quince widget is up!

    ReplyDelete

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