LSA News

No. 60, December 2004

A Question of Condiments

(story continued)

One such fruit has already made inroads. Bruce Tabb recently prepared a salmon dinner with a guava sauce and suggests that it would work equally well with turkey. His directions: "I peeled the guavas, added some orange juice, red wine vinegar, and maybe 1/4 cup demerara sugar and boiled until it reduced to about half. Then I put it in a blender to liquefy and then added some fresh lime juice. It was quite nice." There you have it.

Cathy Flynn-Purvis has developed something of a reputation in Metadata and Digital Library Services for her quince paste, a dish she first encountered while living in Spain. On a perfect fall day, she was visiting a friend at his country home on the outskirts of Madrid and was served homemade quince paste after an afternoon of racking leaves. Years later, when she and her husband bought their house in Eugene, she planted a quince tree and has been well-supplied every since. Here are her directions for replicating this exotic fruit treat.

Cathy Flynn-Purvis' Quince Paste Recipe

Membrillo, or quince paste makes a perfect fall or winter appetizer, dessert or special snack. It is easily made from the fragrant, yet outwardly inhospitable seasonal quince fruit. If you can locate some of the fragrant, fuzzy, lumpen yellow fruits make this on a lazy Sunday afternoon. In Spain, it is served with thin slices of Manchego cheese (locally available at the Kiva, Newman's and sometimes Trader Joe's), crusty bread or crackers and a glass of sherry. Not bad with a nice cup of Darjeeling either.

Scrub the quinces, and bake them whole at 350 degrees for a couple of hours, or until soft. They will be very fragrant. Let cool somewhat. Core and stem the fruit, placing the flesh into the bowl of a food mill fitted with a large-holed disk. A potato ricer or sieve can also be used. Measure out the puree into a heavy bottomed saucepan with plenty of room to spare. Add a nearly equal quantity of sugar. Add a little lemon juice to taste. I prefer one part puree to three quarters part sugar, but most recipes call for a 1:1 ratio. Cook it, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat until it becomes so thick and stiff that it becomes difficult to stir. This will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Now you can remove the paste to any number of lightly greased containers. Mini loaf pans work well, as do small decorative molds, or a small round cake pan. Or, you can spread it onto a jelly roll pan, in which case you will cut it into small shapes and roll in sugar before storing-- and it will be more of a dessert thing.

If this is daunting, or you can't locate quinces, I've noticed it's becoming voguish lately, and can be found in little plastic tubs in the fancy cheese section of PC Market of Choice. Que aproveche!

Heaven forbid that I neglect mention of the persimmon, a fruit that is now making regular (albeit seasonal) appearances in local natural food produce sections. It is the fruit that was immortalized in 1270 by the Chan painter Mu Qi of the Southern Song dynasty. " Six Persimmons", of ink and wash, is considered one of the finest extant examples of Zen Buddhist painting. It is now housed in the Ryoko-In at Daikotuji Monastery in Kyoto, Japan. If you are in the least bit inclined to displace cranberry sauce at your winter holiday feast, the persimmon is a lofty and esoteric alternative. Prepare and consume with reverence!

Persimmon Chutney

• 10 Hachiya persimmons
• 5 lemons (well scrubbed)
• 3/4 cup sugar or maple syrup (adjust for liquid quantity)
• ¼ cup butter (ghee) or cold-pressed walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons grated or chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup orange juice (more if needed)
• 1/3 cup chopped Medjool dates, raisins or currants (optional)

Chop up the lemons and soak in cider vinegar overnight.

Put persimmons into boiling water for 4-5 minutes, cool slightly, remove skins and chop coarsely.
Mix persimmons with sugars, juice and spices, add the chopped lemons and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer until the mixture thickens, about 40 minutes, adding small amounts of orange juice and stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Remove from heat and add the dates or currants. Let stand at room temperature for a couple of hours to blend flavors before serving (if possible, store in the refrigerator for a couple of days before serving, then bring to room temperature). The chutney will last about a week with refrigeration.

Fig and Pomegranate Tapenade

• 8 ripe fresh figs, stemmed, halved
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (found in Asian markets)
• ½ teaspoon wine vinegar
• ½ cup toasted, chopped walnuts

Brush figs with olive oil, arrange on a baking sheet, open side up and broil for about three minutes until light browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Combine figs, olives, pomegranate molasses and vinegar in food processor and chop coarsely. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Put in a dish and stir in walnuts. Let tapenade stand 2 hours at room temperature to blend flavors before serving (if possible, store in the refrigerator for a couple of days before serving, then bring to room temperature). The tapenade will last about a week with refrigeration.

If you are intrigued by these challenges to the Cranberry Paradigm, visit the website for the Rare Fruit Growers of the "Subtropical Hinterland" of San Diego County where you can acquire a certain fluency about guavas, sapotes, jujubes and cherimoyas.

Return to LSA Newsletter