Saturday, December 18, 2010

Pineapple Quince and Butternut Squash

It's been a while since I updated this blog, mostly because I ran out of new ideas of things to cook and just made dishes that were already posted (or variations of them).

Then I discovered this "new" fruit - the pineapple quince. I had no idea what to do with it, so decided to buy 2. That way I could experiment a little bit.

After a very brief google search, I learned that you need to peel and cook the quince, otherwise it is woody and really sour. You also need to completely remove the core, otherwise it is really gritty tasting. These are important things to know!

Since I don't use my oven to bake things, I decided to "poach" the quince slices in a little bit of water and white wine. (The "ice cubes" are really frozen white wine - I make ice cubes with leftover wine and then use the cubes for cooking.)


Part way through cooking the quince, I decided to toss in some chunks of butternut squash, and sprinkle the whole mixture with some dried sage and freshly grated ginger. The final product was so tasty that I ate both servings! The best way I can describe the flavor of the quince is that it has a slightly tart cooked apple flavor, layered with the flavor of rose petals.

Approx. 100 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups butternut squash
  • 1 medium pineapple quince
  • 2 oz white wine
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • water
Directions
  1. Peel, core, and slice the pineapple quince.
  2. Peel and cube the butternut squash.
  3. Add the quince to a skillet with just enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet.
  4. Add white wine and bring to a boil.
  5. Cook quince for about 3 minutes and then add squash cubes.
  6. Cook until squash and quince is tender (approx. 6 minutes).
  7. Add sage and ginger.

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