Quinces look a lot like apples and smell just heavenly. The quince is a hard fruit that takes some cutting. When cooked, however, it turns slightly pinkish and softens beautifully. Try quince in this fall fruit tart with apples and pears, which seem natural partners for the fragrant quince. The spicy ginger crust complements the fruit nicely. The crust is based on one used in an Eating Well pie recipe. I use trans-fat-free gingersnaps, such as Mi-Del.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 30 ginger snap wafers (such as Mi-Del)
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp apple juice
- 1 large Granny Smith Apple
- 1 large Bartlett Pear
- 2 Quinces
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of honey or apricot preserves (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Crush ginger cookies in a resealable plastic bag with a rolling pin, or place cookies in a food processor and process until crumbs form. Add oil and apple juice and combine well. Press ginger-crumb mixture into the bottom of the pie plate and around the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel, core and slice apple, pear and quince into thin slices. Place them in a bowl with the lemon juice and lemon zest and toss slices to coat. Lay apple, pear and quince slices on prebaked crust, overlapping where necessary. Combine sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, then sprinkle over fruit.
Bake for 25 minutes until slightly browned. Remove from oven and brush with 2 tablespoons of either warmed honey or apricot preserves.
Serves 8.
Per Serving: Calories 208, Calories from Fat 54, Total Fat 6.2 (sat 0.1g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 0mg, Carbohydrate 36.7g, Fiber 2.6g, Protein 1.7g
