They Dined on Mince and Slices of Quince
Unlike the Owl and the Pussycat in Edward Lear’s poem, when I was a child and the poem was read to me, we had mince but no quince. I don’t think I ever saw a quince until I moved to the Southwest. After a recent quince jam cooking class, I came home with a bag of the lumpy, fuzzy fruit. Aside from jam, what was I to make?
Here in the Southwest, quince is primarily used to make membrillo, a dense, sweet, sliceable paste often served with cheeses. (Membrillo is also very popular throughout Spain and quite a few other countries.) In the class, we made the quince jam, quince empanadas, and a variation of Marian Burros’ famous Plum Torte using quince slices.
But quince can be used in savory preparations as well, giving these dishes a lovely hint of sweet combined with savory. It pairs well with roasted pork, poultry — especially duck — and there are several Middle Eastern lamb recipes that call for quince.
Today, I’m sharing a recipe for Saffron Chicken with Quince. When quince is in season, this is my go-to recipe. A hefty dose of saffron gives this dish a wonderfully earthy flavor and an intense orange color, while the quince adds a bright sweet-tartness. Yes, it uses a lot of saffron, but you can find affordably-priced Spanish saffron online.
~ David
Saffron Chicken with Quince
To print the recipe, please click on the tiny printer icon below.
Ingredients
- 1 pound quince
- 4 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4-6 large boneless and skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water
- juice of 1 lemon
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Do not peel the quinces. Rub off all the fuzz with a terrycloth towel or damp paper towel, and wash them. Quarter them and remove core with a melon baller or sharp knife. Cut into 3/4-inch wedges.
- In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons clarified butter over medium heat. Add the quince and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add saffron and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring and tumbling occasionally to coat the quince with the saffron. Remove from heat.
- In a separate large frying pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of clarified butter over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown, turning once, for about 6-7 minutes.
- Add the onion and cook with the chicken for another 8 minutes. Add tomato paste mixture and cook another 5 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened slightly.
- Add the quince and lemon juice to the chicken and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken and quince are tender.
- Serves 4-6.
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Mimi Rippee
March 11, 2023 at 7:01 amWhat a lovely meal! I’ve never had the pleasure of working with a quince. I do love membrillo, and I’ve made similar fruit pastes. This is a wonderful way to use the fruit. Just beautiful.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 12:01 pmThanks so much, Mimi! It really is a wonderful fruit.
Carolyne
March 11, 2023 at 8:18 amBravo! Quince seems to be an overlooked ingredient in North America for both sweet and savoury recipes.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 12:01 pmI believe you are right, Carolyne, it is overlooked here — but I’m glad it’s coming back into fashion.
Mad Dog
March 11, 2023 at 8:21 amThat’s very Spanish indeed! Spanish saffron seems to have gone down in price over the last couple of years. I believe this is due to mechanical harvesting, where before it was all done by hand.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 12:00 pmWhile the romance of harvesting saffron manually has its appeal, it doesn’t bother me if the price goes down because it’s mechanically harvested! That’s probably the case with my Spanish saffron.
Mad Dog
March 17, 2023 at 2:01 pmIt’s back breaking work, but they do cook lunch in the fields – dishes like sopa de ajo, and in the evenings, sort the saffron in large family or village groups, where people cook a large communal supper, with lots of saffron, of course!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 2:02 pmThere is a true romance to the process, isn’t there?
Ronit
March 11, 2023 at 8:46 amI adore quince in any form, and use it often, with both sweet and savory dishes (I posted quite a few of them in my blog).
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find decent ones lately. But I’ll keep on looking, and will definitely have this tasty dish in mind, as I haven’t paired it with saffron yet. 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:59 amI was pretty sure I had seen several quince recipes on your site, Ronit. I hope you get a chance to make this recipe.
Eha
March 11, 2023 at 2:57 pmA delightful combination . . . ! The use of saffron here is naturally somewhat curtailed by its price . . . saffron rice probably being the dish most often seen. Quinces seem to arrive from one’s own or the Neighbour’s garden and are but rarely seen at a supermarket or greengrocer. Your dish looks moreish – shall keep my eyes open for ingredients . . .
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:59 amUnfortunate that I was able to buy very well priced Spanish saffron online. It’s one of my favorite spices, so I use it rather liberally…. Please, that you like the sound of the recipe!
Sherry M
March 11, 2023 at 6:14 pmi have terrible childhood memories of having to sit at the dinner table till we had all finished a bowl of awful, squishy, foul (to my young mind), TINNED quinces in syrup or more likely some terrible fake ‘ juice’. Quelle horreur! But I’m sure this dish is delightful David esp. with all that wonderful saffron!!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:58 amI cannot even imagine tinned quinces, Sherry. I do think he would like this version!
Frances Rose Flint
March 12, 2023 at 8:13 amThis looks delicious and what an interesting combination of saffron and quince! One of my neighbors left a bunch of quinces out on the sidewalk to take and I made a quince tart. The fruit is quite woody in texture until you cook it and also goes well with apples.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:57 amI think “Woody” is a very good description for the fruit. But once you cook it, it softens so beautifully. Your queen start sounds quite wonderful…
Pauline Mcnee
March 13, 2023 at 2:58 pmYour recipe takes quinces to a whole new level David. We make the quince paste, but I must use them in a dish like yours when next in season. This is such a restaurant worthy dish as well. Beautiful, thanks for sharing.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:56 amAs soon as quince arrives back in our market, I’m going to make quince paste, as well, Pauline. I bought it quite a few times to go with cheese boards, but I’ve never made it. It’s about time! Glad you like the recipe…
Gerlinde de Broekert
March 13, 2023 at 7:36 pmI have been playing with quince recipes for the last years. My girlfriend has a tree. I love them and this recipe looks fantastic,
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:55 amYou are so fortunate that your friend has a tree, Gerlinde. I wish I had a friend with a tree… 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:56 amYou are so fortunate that you have a friend with a tree, Gerlinde! I wish I had a friend with a tree…
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
March 14, 2023 at 2:13 pmI love using fruit in savoury dishes, but I don’t think I’ve ever used quince (in truth, I haven’t worked much with quince at all!) This dish looks terrific and sounds delightful. Great flavours and textures going on; I think it’s an excellent use of quince.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:54 amThanks, Ben. It is a very unusual use of quince and, through one of my students, I have found out that it’s Persian-esque.
Jeff the Chef
March 14, 2023 at 8:20 pmAnother gorgeous dish! I’ve never cooked with quince, but I sure would like to. I’m flush with saffron, becuase a friend who was travelling through Spain brought me back quite a bit.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:53 amIf you can’t find Koenes, Jeff, you might be able to use Bosc pears. They are very firm, and might stand up to the cooking time. Lucky you to get all that saffron! What a nice gift.
2pots2cook
March 17, 2023 at 5:08 amIt seems we are quite lucky to work with quince aren’t we? This old girl is so bursting with vintage flavours….. and saffron chicken, hmmmmmmmmmm
Cocoa & Lavender
March 17, 2023 at 11:53 amI’m glad it’s reemerging in the United States. It’s a wonderful fruit!
Raymund
March 21, 2023 at 1:48 pmI have never cooked with quince before, but your description of its sweet-tart flavor and versatility in both sweet and savory dishes makes me eager to try it out. I will definitely give this recipe a try when I have the chance.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 21, 2023 at 2:53 pmIt would be fun to see what you would do with quince in some of your recipes, Raymund.
Valentina
March 22, 2023 at 3:09 pmBeautiful! The golden color from affron always gets me. I have hardly worked with quince. This recipes has inspired me! 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
March 22, 2023 at 9:00 pmSaffron has to be my favorite — it’s a good thing that I can’t find it relatively inexpensive! You really need to try quince, Valentina — it’s so incredibly different than anything else.