The Salt Box's Spiced Candied Quince

“A hard, tart and sour fruit when raw, quince is a wonderfully fragrant and enticing fruit when cooked, and ripe for picking in all their autumnal glory.” The Salt Box know a thing or two about cooking with the seasons, and we love this take on the fruit. Enjoy! Photo by Joe Allen-Preston

Ingredients

• . . For the Quince
• 4 . quince
• 600 ml water
• 1/2 tsp hogweed seeds (alternatively use a cardamon pod and a piece of orange peel)
• 1 . star anise
• 50 g honey
• 3 tbsp demerara sugar
• . . zest and juice of half a lemon
• . . For the Porridge
• 150 g porridge oats
• 750 ml milk
• . . Pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Step one: Cooking the Quince
2. Rub the quince in a tea towel to remove the downy fluff from its skin. Peel the quince and cut from tip to toe. Placing in a pan filled with water, the lemon juice and zest to stop it from turning brown.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the quince to simmer away until tender. If the sauce becomes too thick add a dash more water to the pan to slacken off.
4. Once the quinces have cooked remove from the pan and reduce the liquid to a syrup.
5. Step two: For the Porridge
6. Place the oats and milk into a saucepan along with a small pinch of salt.
7. Gently bring the pan to a simmer and cook the oats for 5-6 minutes stirring constantly.
8. Add more milk if you like it slightly runnier and serve with warm quince and some quince syrup.
9. Step three: To Serve
10. Serve the porridge with the warm quince and some quince syrup on top. Breakfast of champions, perfect for those chilly autumnal mornings with a cup of tea!