Serves 4
4 quinces
1 lemon, juice and peel
1 orange, juice and peel
500ml white wine
2 cups (440g) sugar
12 black peppercorns
1 sprig fresh rosemary
To serve
200g unsweetened yoghurt
30g pistachio nuts, lightly roasted,
roughly chopped
100g halva
Method
Heat the oven to 140degC. Fill a bowl with cold water, add the lemon juice and lemon.
Peel the quinces. Remove the core and cut the quince in half horizontally. Place in the bowl of lemon water until all the quince is prepared.
Combine the wine and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, add the peppercorns and rosemary. Heat for 2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the liquid into a deep-sided oven dish. Place the prepared quince cut side down in the liquid. Top up with extra hot water so the quinces are just covered.
Cover and bake for 4 hours or until tender, fragrant and the flesh has changed to a soft pink colour.
When the quince is cooked, remove from the oven. Using a slotted spoon, remove the quince from the liquid and set aside.
Strain the liquid into a saucepan and reduce over a medium heat for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and thickened to a glossy syrup.
Serve the quinces at room temperature with yoghurt, drizzled with syrup and sprinkled with pistachios and halva.
