Vino Cotto Poached Quince and Hazelnut Crumble
Vino Cotto Poached Quince, Hazelnut and Blueberry Crumble
A crumble says it all – ‘comfort, warmth, flavour, cosiness’ and combined with the lovely perfumed Quince fruit that has been poached in Vino Cotto and aromatics, it’s truly a perfect family dessert. Yum!
Serves 8
Ingredients
Poached Quince
5 to 6 small ripe quinces
250g caster sugar
1 litre water
100ml Vino Cotto Original or Vino Cotto Quince
1 star anise
1 cinnamon quill
1 orange rind
1 lemon rind
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Hazelnut crumble
130g plain flour
45g rolled oats
80g brown sugar
70g hazelnut meal (or almond meal)
50g hazelnuts, roasted and coarsely chopped (or almonds)
100g frozen butter
1 tbsp orange rind
Method
For poaching quince (can be prepared ahead of time and placed in sterilized jars)
Peel, quarter and core the quinces and place in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon to help stop oxidising. Set aside.
Place water, quinces, sugar, vino cotto, aromatics and rinds into a casserole. Ensure quinces are covered with water, if not add more water and a little more vino cotto. Cover with a cartouche and cut a walnut size hole in the centre to ensure fruit stays submerged. Place a tight fitting lid and bring to the boil over a high heat.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 1 to 3 hours*.
Occasional check the cooking of the quinces using a skewer to ensure doneness and liquid hasn’t evaporated. The quinces should hold their shape and not be over cooked. Whilst the quinces are cooking enjoy the aromatic smell that fills the kitchen.
*Cooking time will vary depending on how ripe the fruit actually is.
Remove aromatics and allow fruit to cool in it’s poaching liquid**.
Refrigerate or place in sterilized jars with the liquid.
**Any left over poaching liquid can be strained and cooked further to become thicker. Use syrup over ice-creams and other favourite desserts. It’s delicious and keeps for a week in refrigerator.
For hazelnut crumble (can be prepared ahead of time and kept frozen)
Place all crumble ingredients into a bowl and grate butter into the dry ingredients. Use your fingertips to rub in the butter or place in a food processor and process until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
To serve
Preheat oven to 170C degrees.
Lightly grease your preferred deep oven dish or ramekins with butter. Spoon the quinces into dish and scatter the blueberries. Pour a a few tablespoons of quince poaching liquid to the dish or ramekins and let it settle. Scatter the dishes with a generous amount of the crumble and place in oven for 20-30 minutes or until filing is bubbling and the crumble is golden.
Serve immediately with custard or ice-cream drizzled with reserved poaching liquid or drizzled with Vino Cotto.
Enjoy!
Buy the Vino Cotto you need for this recipe online. Click here.