Quince-Apple Pie

Name: Quince-Apple Pie
Yield: makes one 8-inch pie
Ingredients: 4 quinces, peeled and halved, peels reserved; 1 bottle (375 ml) sweet dessert wine, such as Muscat; 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped, pod and seeds reserved; 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling; 1/2 cup raisins; 4 tart, firm apples, such as Granny Smith; Fresh juice of 1 lemon; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 recipe Pâte Brisée (page 322); 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

January 24, 2012

References to quince pie date as far back as the 1400s; the dessert later garnered a mention in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Quinces look and taste like a cross between an apple and a pear; in fact, they are usually paired with one or the other, as in this recipe. Here, peeled, halved quinces are first poached in dessert wine with the reserved peels (for their signature rosy color) and a split vanilla bean (for flavor). Baking the pie in a cast-iron skillet helps the crust turn a deep golden brown and gives the pie a truly home-style appeal. You may substitute four additional Granny Smith apples for the poached quinces; soak the raisins in one-third cup of warm Calvados in place of the poaching liquid.

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