It’s that time of year where Quince is in abundance and there are very few things you can do with them.  I’ve now realised you the simple way to make a lovely, sweet puree is to cook them whole with a few apples in a slow cooker set to high.  Once soft you can scoop out the core and discard and blend the rest together.  I put this in jars and keep in the fridge.

I’ve also discovered they are simply beautiful if you add cardamon. I invested in a bag of ground cardamon out of sheer laziness and I’m really glad I did as the combination of cauliflower, cardamon and quince results in a delicately flavoured soup. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 small cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tablespoon, Oil – Olive
• 1 tsp, Ground Cardamom
• 25 g, Green Thai Paste
• 400 ml, Coconut Milk
• 2 tablespoons Quince Puree (I make my own)
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 500ml water

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Fry the onion gently until soft and translucent.
3. Add the green curry past and ground cardamon and fry till fragrant.
4. Add the chopped cauliflower and season with a little salt and ground black pepper.
5. Add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Make up the stock with the water and add to the pot.
7. Leave to simmer until the cauliflower is soft.
8. Blend until smooth (I used a stick blender)
9. Add the quince puree and blend together.

Notes:

This serves 4 (308 calories) as a main meal or 6 (205 calories) as a starter.

As I am a meat eater and wanted to increase the protein content I added some crispy pork loin I’d roasted in the oven, you could also try dry roasted cashew nuts as a veggie alternative.