Recipe: Savory stuffed quinces with lamb

Like a heady romance novel, I love a fruit with a good story-line. More than most seasonal fruits you’ll find in local produce bins, the quince delivers the reader high drama. Quince should be cooked to eliminate their strong acidity and interestingly, when baked, they taste like they look: A baked pear and apple hybrid.

Yield: 4 quince halves
Cost: apx. $8.50
Active Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large quinces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 8 ounces ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 tablespoons chopped mint plus extra sprigs for garnish, optional
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo Turkish or black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325?.
2. Wash the quinces. Rub off the light down that cover the skin in patches, if apparent.
Place them on an oiled, foil-lined baking sheet on center rack of oven. Bake about 1 hour for large quince. Note cooking times vary depending on age and size of the quince. They are ready when just soft to the touch.
3. While quince are baking, sauté onion in oil until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and allspice, salt and pepper. Combine with raw lamb and 3 tablespoons pine nuts.
4. When quince are cool enough to handle, cut them open lengthwise through the stem end. Remove the cores and membranes attached to the stem in with a sharp knife and discard. Remove and discard all seeds. With a pointed spoon or melon baller, scoop out about one-third of the pulp and mix it into the meat mixture. Mound and press 1/4 of this mixture into each quince half.
5. Increase oven temperature to 350?. Return stuffed quince to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with remaining tablespoon pine nuts and mint, if using.

 This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Dec. 21, 2009.