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Active Time
25 min
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Total Time
45 min
The combination of meat and fruit is common in Middle Eastern cuisine. If you aren't familiar with quinces, you might mistake them for hard, yellow apples. They are too tart to eat raw, but become fragrantly delicious (and a lovely shade of pink) when cooked with sugar. Serve this dish with thebulgur with apricots and almonds.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
For quince and sauce
For lamb
Poach quince:
Step 1
Bring water, sugar, and lemon juice to a simmer in a 2- to 2 1/2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then add quince. Cut out a round of parchment or wax paper to fit just inside saucepan and cover quince directly with parchment or wax paper. Simmer, gently stirring once or twice, until quince is tender, about 35 minutes. Drain quince in a sieve set over a bowl and reserve 1/2 cup syrup for sauce.
Cook lamb (10 minutes before quince is done simmering):
Step 2
Pat lamb dry. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle spice mixture all over lamb. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook lamb 4 minutes, then turn over and cook 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.
Make sauce while lamb stands:
Step 3
Reduce heat to moderate and add reserved quince syrup to skillet, then boil, scraping up any brown bits, until liquid is reduced by almost half, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to a gravy boat or small bowl and stir in lemon juice and salt to taste.
To serve:
Step 4
Thinly slice lamb and serve with quince and sauce.
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Reviews (11)
Back to TopHad no quince so used an unripe bosc pear.I cut the amount of sugar but still thought sauce was a bit sweet. Served with an almond-rice pilaf and fresh green beans. Nice flavors.
Anonymous
Cape Cod, MA
4/4/2012
我们有一个连续的东洋Nishiki开花海棠ces an abundance of large, well shaped fruit. After extensive internet searching I found that, although they are different species, some flowering quince are considered "of culinary value," but found no specific info on using them, or on our variety. Decided at least it wasn't likely to be poisonous, and to give it a go. The quince turned a nice yellow, and began to drop fromt he shrub, so it was time. Based on everything I've read about quince, I don't guess it worked. We got a lemonade like syrup, without any of the fragrance I had been lead to expect, and without any color. The fruit came apart. I went ahead with the recipe and the result was certainly acceptable. The syrup produced a beautiful pan gravy and the tart flavor went well with the meat. The dry rub on the meat did not produce a real depth of flavor. I will try this again with a store bought quince, and I think I will cube the meat to increase surface area for the rub. May sprinkle a bit of rub into the pan before adding the syrup, as well. All in all, if the wife likes it, it's good, and she seems to like it.
Jan4321
10/17/2010
The spice rub for the lamb steaks is really tasty and the quince is a nice flavor pairing. I enjoyed the quince and the quince sauce, but I can see how it would come off as a little too sweet for some. Next time I might try reducing the sugar.
pmlavigne
Omaha, NE
8/17/2010
I'd say 3.5 forks a meal my husband and I both enjoyed. I'm not a huge fan of cumin, so I only used a pinch and I also added chopped fresh rosemary to the steaks. I would not blend the salt with the other spices; instead, only sprinkle directly onto the steaks to reduce the saltiness. No quince to be found (although I'm looking forward to trying them), so I made red swiss chard with golden raisins as another reviewer did. I also served with roasted red potatoes with olive oil and fresh rosemary. Added some chicken stock to the hot grill pan once the steak was removed and scraped up the browned bits to pour over the lamb when it was sitting. We will definitely be making this again!
emantiply
Mountain View, CA
2/3/2010
What a surprise! Delightful, delicious -- all of that. The quinces were a lovely complement. On my second time around, there were no quinces to be had, so I baked some plums instead with cinnamon, sugar, and water -- maybe even better! Very quick and easy.
jenoudi
Pacific Grove, CA
10/18/2009
The lamb spices were delightful and matched the J. Lohr Cuvee St E we had perfectly. We did chops on the grill, so I had to 'fake' my fond a little by frying some bacon in duck fat, then adding the quince syrup. Must say the quince was so delicate as to be nearly non-existence. No matter; the spices offered plenty of flavor and then I added pomegranate molasses I made because I had a bottle of POM languishing in my fridge. All and all, the dish was delicious.
brendakb
Scottsdale, AZ
10/7/2009
Do not add sugar to the quince, it really isn't neccessary. Especially if you pick and use a ripe quince. A ripe quince is firm like an apple, yellow in color (it's okay if it is slightly green), and smells like really ripe strawberries. I prefer to cook my quince longer, about 30 minutes total, until they are more like firm (but not quite) apple sauce. It better diversifies with the meat. I added more of a kick to my sauce with a little red pepper flake. And also deglazed the pan with the red wine I served with the meal, in addition to quince juices. A slightly spicy sauce always compliments a sweet additive like quince. I served La Crema Russian River Pinot, but if you like a lighter Pinot I recommend La Crema Anderson Valley or Kendall Jackson California Vitner's Reserve (the ladder bottle is on the cheaper side, but no less lacking for it). I really enjoyed this meal!
mtaylor733
Santa Rosa, CA
12/5/2006
Too sweet! Not surprising when you register the 3/4 sugar in the poaching step that turns into the deglazed sauce. A very easy recipe and a fun way to try quince (my first time) but if I made it again I'd drastically reduce the amount of syrup and supplement with red wine for deglazing.
Bon3
NYC
11/12/2005
I live in the state where Oprah battles with the cattle industry, and lamb is still considered exotic - if not down-right weird. So I experimented with pork tenderloin instead. The quince sauce and rub transfered to the pork very well. The only adjustment is to roast the pork, using your typical temps/times to get it done.
bethknight5
达尔as, Texas
4/30/2005
The spice rub on the lamb was delicious! I ended up with even less time than I thought, so didn't make the quince, but served with red chard sauteed with white raisins instead -- the sweet note was wonderful with the meat, and next time I'll make the whole recipe. Zatar-spiced bulgur was a nice match, as was a bottle of smoky Amador Valley Zin.
Anonymous
Bernal Heights, SF
12/9/2004
Rave reviews in our house tonight. Used about 2 1/2 # butterflied leg of lamb instead (what the butcher had at 6:30 pm), searing each side and then roasting about 20 minutes at 400. Doubled the spices as we had more meat (and we like this kind of spice). The quince slices and sauce were absolutely delicious, and would go well with sausage, duck, foie gras...I used 2 quinces (8 oz each), increased the water to 3 cups but kept the sugar the same. By the time they were soft, the sauce had already reduced, so just lifted the fruit into a prep bowl, and added the syrup into the roasting pan. Made a simple saffron rice with toasted pine nuts rather than the bulgar, as my husband cannot have wheat / related grains. From start to finish, dinner was on the table within an hour. This would make an easy "dinner for company" or a holiday meal, especially with a little attention to presentation.
Anonymous
San
12/3/2004
