...a fancy name for Quince paste. Sounds better in Spanish dont ya think? In honour of the transformation of the last of the kitchen stash of quinces, i chose to break the pretty much standard loca food rule we have imposed in Chez Pan. It took at least a third passing of the Stinky Cheese shop in the market before my will weakend, and i relented and bought some imported Manchego cheese, a Spanish sheep milk cheese traditionally eaten with membrillo. Actually, i bought the cheese on Friday before I'd made the paste... in anticipation, as i knew it would be a great incentive to get the damn stuff done. The paste i made in between the 70 odd cupcakes i baked on saturday. Like i needed some more work?
Its slightly sweet which compliments the slighty salty and smooth; a little like a pecorino style hard cheese. This one i purchased young but at $78 per kilo for the 12yr old mature manchego, i figured id better cut my losses on the loca and just buy the 2 year old at half the kilo unit price.
The slightly gritty membrillo and the softly grainy manchego were the perfect foil for each other. The quince paste recipe i followed is this one. I cooked it both on the stove top and baked it in the oven for about twice as long for both before i was happy with the consistency and colour.
3 comments:
Sounds good- I go 4 times or so a year (depending on if we get to go to Spain that year or not) and succumb to a piece of each of the Manchegos. One of the things I miss from home... The membrillo looks perfect to me! (I better go and check on the ones in the back again!)
Mmmmmhh...manchego sounds nice. Must go to the market very soon. The market list is getting longer. :)
I made quince paste (with your quinces) and it looks a bit like yours. I used the recipe from Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion. I was not as happy with it as I was last time I made it. It is a lot harder and denser. But tastes okay. Haven't given it to anyone yet to taste.
Certainly sounds nicer than quince paste which doesn't sound quite as appetising. I have a recipe (which I am itching to try) for one made in a slow cooker which doesn't need much supervision.
Pip
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