Fish With Quinces Food

FISH WITH QUINCES

Steps:

• Fry the garlic in the oil until it only just begins to color. Add the tomatoes, salt, and sugar, and put in the chilies. Peel and grate the ginger, or cut it into small pieces and crush it in a garlic press to extract the juice over the pan. Add the saffron and the raisins and simmer over low heat. Put in the quinces as you peel them so that they do not turn brown. They are a very hard fruit, and you need a large strong knife to cut them.
• Cook, covered, for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the quinces are tender. The time varies depending on the size, quality, and ripeness of the fruit. Remove one or both of the chilies when you think the sauce is hot enough. Five to 10 minutes before serving, add the fish, and simmer until the flesh begins to flake. Serve the fish stew and the couscous in separate dishes.

COUSCOUS WITH FISH, TOMATOES, AND QUINCES

Steps:

• Prepare the grain as described in "An Easy Way of Preparing Quick-Cooking Couscous in the Oven" (page 376), using the quantities given in the ingredients list above, and olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
• Cut the quinces in half and trim off the darkened ends. This fruit is very hard, so use a large strong knife to press down on them. Put them in a pan, cover with water, and simmer about 20 minutes, until just tender. Strain and keep the cooking water. Cut into quarters and remove the cores and pips.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil, put in the tomatoes and add the sugar, salt, pepper, and saffron. Cook until the tomatoes soften and fall apart. Put in the quinces and add 2 ladles of the quince water. Simmer until the quinces are very tender. This is the sauce.
• Brush a large sheet of foil (or 2 if you are cooking 2 fish) generously with oil. Place the fish in the middle and sprinkle lightly with salt. Wrap in a baggy parcel, twisting the foil edges together to seal it. Bake at 450°F. The cooking time depends on the size of the fish. Test for doneness for a large fish after about 30 minutes, for smaller ones after 20 minutes. Cut down to the backbone at the thickest part and check that the flesh flakes and has turned white and opaque right through.
• Serve the couscous in a large round dish. Put the fish in the middle and the sauce around it.

VENISON WITH QUINCE

Steps:

• Marinate the venison with the rosemary, extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp black pepper for at least 2 hrs or overnight.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the quince pieces and rosemary in the middle of a sheet of foil, sprinkle with sugar, dot with butter, then scrunch together the foil to seal in a parcel. Bake for 1-1½ hrs until tender. Keep warm.
• For the sauce, cook the reserved quince trimmings and pips in 25g butter for 5 mins. Add the red wine and boil until reduced by half, then pour in the stock and simmer for 10 mins. Strain, return to the pan with the quince paste until melted, then keep warm until ready to serve.
• Just before serving, turn up oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat a frying pan with a dash of olive oil and 2 tsp butter. Season the steaks with salt, then brown on both sides for 1-2 mins. Transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven for 4 mins. Remove and rest for 10 mins. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce and Rosemary mash and finish the Buttery cavolo nero (recipes below). Slice the steaks and serve everything with the roasted quince.