Drop the Mic - the Persimmon and Quince are Done!

In my November blog I mentioned that: ‘a kindly neighbor has just delivered a crate full of quince and fast-ripening lotus fruit for us. Thinking cap on – what can we do with those??!!’ Well, today’s post constitutes the response to that question.

                        

 

       

Here are the quinces, with their furry coating and insides removed, skins still on. Normally we would then pop them in a roasting pan along with sugar and water and the resulting roast fruit and syrup is delicious.   Some of us also make a paste from them, not unlike a fruit pastille texture. This sweet apparently goes back to the Roman times and, with regional variations, is still widely prepared, but perhaps mainly on the Iberian Peninsula known as marmelada to the Portuguese, and dulce de membrillo to the Spanish.

    This time I wanted to make changes so the fruit is simply boiled in water, then the resulting juice is carefully strained, rapidly brought to a boil with sugar until it sets.  Below you can see the beautiful amber jelly it produces and the taste is equally autumn rich. The remaining fruit I simply couldn’t discard so that, too, was boiled up with sugar and that curd is rather good for breakfast, slathered on oatcakes.

One of Z’s favourite sweets is tarte tatin, I think because it resembles the syrupy-pastry sweets – such as baklava- originally from Asia Minor. Here I tried a modified recipe of Martha Stewart’s where she uses quince instead of the traditional apple.  Some advice: make more syrup than usual as the quince, on cooking, does not produce as much liquid as the apple, and whether you serve it with cream or ice-cream, the syrupy puff-pastry is the show-stopper. 

                                               

Now I turn to the fruit of the lotus tree which is virtually ignored here. At this time of year you’ll see trees hanging with these wondrous orange lanterns – disregarded and discarded, left to go to waste. That, to me, is a tragedy as, once fully ripened, the fruit contains a rich jelly which is quite versatile - as I’m beginning to learn.  I had found an old recipe for persimmon (as the fruit is known) cookies and had got tired of making that – I was ready for a change here too.

I’m a lemon pie fan (but no meringue topping, please – it’s just too sweet) so I adapted the recipe to make a lotus tart. Isn’t it like a quiche is savoury while a tart (ironically enough!) is sweet? Anyway …..!  Next up: a lotus cheese-cake. The filling is always a little on the soft side as I add both lemon zest and juice to the cream/cheese combo to give it zing. The fruit jelly, heated with a little sugar makes a really nice topping.

                               

 Below you can see my preparations for a Christmas delivery to friends and neigbours. A while back I was delighted to find a local store which imported shortbread and oatcakes, items this Highlander greatly missed. Frustrated, however, by the shortbread often being broken, while the oatcakes became increasingly more expensive, spicy and small - reduced to ‘cocktail size’, whatever that is – so I learned to make my own. Next to the shortbread are my first attempts at persimmon scone muffins. I guess they’re muffins because of their shape, but scones because, having Greek yoghurt (the recipe asked for buttermilk) in the mix, they’re not too sweet.  Last night’s experiment was these persimmon oatmeal cookies which turned out well: crispy on the outside and nicely chewy inside.

                         

 

Below you see my contribution to our neighbours’ Boxing Day table: lotus pavlova. First syllable stress on that word, please, as advised by a Muscovite on sampling one of mine! 

                                 

Forget the sweets now: a savoury dish I attempted recently was the Lebanese dish, fateh  - or, at least, the lovely Nigella’s version of that, without chickpeas. With its toasted pitta-bread as a base, a layer of mince, aubergine and onion, topped with yoghurt and tahini, it’s fun to eat with friends as this is a dish to be eaten without cutlery. The dusting of red pepper, mint and pomegranate seeds give it a truly festive appeal.      

                                                   

We open our presents on January 1^st, the name day of Saint Vasilis, the dude that brings the pressies here. I don’t know what we’ll have to accompany it but I have to think up a special menu for this bottle, still wrapped up, nestling under the tree for Z. It’s from a local winery, which was named Winery of the Year by the Wine and Spirits magazine, USA. The award-winning wine, Voignier 2016, gained a gold medal at the Sommelier Wine Awards 2017, UK.

Whatever your fare, have a Happy Hogmanay – kali orexi and slainte mhath!