Roast quinces with vanilla syrup

Just a couple of weeks ago I was moaning that I haven't seen any quinces in the shops, when I suddenly came across the big box of quince offered for free by one of the kind neighbours and helped myself. Then a friend emailed me, asking if I want any quinces. So, I am now "quinced" for the season, making jelly and roast quinces. It is such a beautiful fruit, which inspired many old masters of still life.

As Nigel Slater wrote: "I love the quince's shape, its generous curves and bulges. It is a voluptuous, even magnificent fruit to look at, like a Rubens bottom. (There is one in my dish now that is the spitting image of his Bacchus)."
And though for the photo shoot I couldn't find any particularly bottom-resembling quince, they are certainly curvy.

This recipe is inspired by Nigel Slater's recipe for roast quinces. He suggests cutting the quinces in half (from the photos you can see I did both halves and quarters). He uses the maple syrup, while I added the Gourmet Vanilla syrup with Vanilla pod and Gourmet Ginger Syrup from Selsley Foods (not together, but on different occasions, and both syrups work brilliantly).
We didn't have it as a dessert but as a side dish to roast chicken. I would imagine it will be beautiful with the roast ham or gammon for Christmas.

Roast quinces with Gourmet Vanilla syrup
Ingredients:
4 smaller size quinces
4tbsp + sugar
water (enough to cover the quinces)
2 cloves
1/2 lemon
4tbsp syrup (either vanilla or ginger)

Halve or quarter the peeled quinces, remove the seeds. Take half a lemon and rub it over the quince pieces to stop them from browning. Put the quinces in a medium pan, add the cloves, sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice and water, enough to cover the quinces.

Poach the quinces for about 10-15 minutes until quite soft. Nigel suggests cooking them for longer, but the first batch I was doing started to go a bit mushy, so I would't cook them longer in water.

Take the quinces out of the pan and put in a deep baking dish or tin. Add some of the liquid from the pan and pour the syrup. Roast in the oven preheated to 180C for about 25 minutes.
Serve as a side dish to roast meat or as a dessert.

I should also add that both Gourmet Vanilla syrup with vanilla pod and Gourmet Ginger syrup work exceptionally well with the roast quinces. What I love about Selsley foods syrups is their superior quality. The vanilla syrup actually has a vanilla pod inside, and the ginger syrup has a long piece of ginger. They are delicious, and until 15 November you have a chance to win a selection of beautiful syrups from Selsley Foods on my blog (see Selsley syrups giveaway).

You could also try this recipe with the maple syrup.

For the original Nigel Slater's recipe and other quince recipes, check the link Quince recipes.

I am entering this recipe in the Dish of the month linky created by Farmersgirl Kitchen blog and hosted this month by A little bit of heaven blog.