Quince Fall Salad Recipe

Mark you diaries! New Canaan's HamletHub 'Culinary Queen' Chef Silivia Baldini will be teaching a class at Olivette, Darien on Thursday, November 6th. There, she will cook up a storm, using Olivette's luscious olive oils in her fall recipes. In addition to the usual seasonal suspects such as: apples, tubers and brassicas she will experiment with less common produce like Quince pears. Enjoy her delicious recipe.

Quince pears are a bit fussy and need to be cooked for a long time before they become edible. But you’ll be amazed by how delightful, tasty and fragrant they become. Their flesh literally transforms, once prepared. Following is the recipe for my Fall Quince and Stilton Salad. It’s the perfect starter for a chic evening meal.

Quince and Stilton Salad, Serves 4

  • 2 cups of water
  • 300g. sugar
  • I tbs whole peppercorn
  • 4 strips orange zest
  • 2 bay leaves
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 tsp mustard grains
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
  • winter greens (radicchio, mustard greens, kale)
  • ½ pound Stilton
  • ½ cup unsalted shelled pistachios roughly chopped
  • salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 275F

  1. In an oven safe pot put water, sugar, peppercorns, zest, bay leaves and lemon juice, bring to a light simmer and, as soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat.
  2. Peel the quince, but keep the skin. Cut the fruit in 1/8 and remove the core. Keep that, too. Put the quince segments, skins and cores into the sugar syrup. Cover and bake for two hours, by which time the quince should be tender and have taken on a beautiful red color.  Leave, uncovered, to cool.
  3. Put the pistachios and butter in a saucepan with a pinch of salt, then toast lightly over a medium heat for two to three minutes. Set aside.
  4. Combine the mustard, vinegar, oil, four tablespoons of the quince cooking liquid, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and whisk until emulsified.
  5. To arrange the salad, place some leaves on four plates. Lay four quince segments per portion and some pieces of the Stilton around and about. Put a few more leaves on top, then spoon over some dressing and scatter with pistachios. Finish with a light drizzle of oil, if you like. (recipe adapted from Plenty)

If you have any questions please contact me HERE

Ciao,

Silvia.

M
Submitted by Milford, CT

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