Apple Quince Turnovers with Whole Wheat Puff Pastry
These homemade apple turnovers are packed full of fresh flavors!
Prep Time: 40 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 2 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Freezing time: 20 minutesminutes
Servings: 65" turnovers.
Ingredients
Roasted Quince (makes 1 quart)
3cupswater
1 1/4cupsorganic sugar
1/4cuphoney
1vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
6cardamom pods, cracked
6large quince (about 4 cups peeled and sliced)
1/4cuplate-harvest Riesling, Muscat, or other white dessert wine
Quince and Apple Filling
1tablespoonbutter
2tablespoonssugar
pinchsalt
squeeze lemon or lime juice
2medium, firm-tart baking apples, peeled, cut off the core, and cut into 3/4" cubes (about 3 cups)
1cuproasted quince (from above), cooled, chopped into 1/2" pieces
Dough and Spiced Sugar:
1poundall-butter puff pastry (1/2 recipe of homemade or store-bought, defrosted in the fridge overnight if frozen)
2tablespoonssugar
1/8teaspooncinnamon
1/8teaspoonground cardamom
Instructions
Cook the quince:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375º.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, honey, vanilla pod and scrapings, and cardamom. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then simmer over low heat while you prepare the quince.
Peel the quince (I like to use a T-shaped vegetable peeler), and cut them off the core (or halve and core for cleaner slices). Cut the quince into 3/4" thick slices. Lay the quince slices in a gratin dish or other shallow baking dish with a 2-quart capacity.
Pour the boiling syrup and spices over the quince.
Bake the quince, uncovered, for about 2 hours, turning the slices over in their juices every 30 minutes (and more frequently during the end of the cooking time). When done, the quince should be tender and rosy, and somewhat translucent.
Remove the quince from the oven and pour the wine over them. Cool the quince in the their juices, pack into a quart-sized mason jar, cover with the liquid, and store in the fridge for up to 2 months (or in the freezer for longer).
Prepare the dough:
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to an 11x16" rectangle, about 1/8" thick, chilling the dough if it becomes at all sticky or springy. Trim away the outer 1" on all sides, and use a sharp chef's knife or pizza wheel to cut the dough into 6 squares. Stack the squares on a plate and chill while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling and assemble the turnovers:
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar, salt and lemon juice, give it a stir, and cook until bubbling, 2-3 minutes. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool the apples completely (you can spread them on a plate and stick them in the fridge), then combine with the cooled, chopped quince.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove one dough square from the fridge, and moisten two adjoining edges with water. Place 3-4 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the dough, and shape it into a slight oblong on the diagonal. Fold the square in half on the diagonal, bringing the top edges 1/8" over the bottom. Firmly crimp the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.
Place the turnover on the parchment-lined sheet, and repeat with the remaining turnovers (you may have some leftover filling). Freeze the filled turnovers until firm, about 20 minutes, while you:
Position a rack in the upper-center of the oven and preheat to 375º.
Remove the frozen turnovers, spray or brush them lightly with water, and sprinkle with the spiced sugar (you may not need all of it).
Bake the turnovers until the crusts are golden and flaky, and the juices from the fruit are bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
The turnovers are best the day they are baked, but they can be stored for up to 3 days at room temperature and reheated in a 350º oven or toaster oven.
Notes
Roasted Quince is adapted from Seasonal Fruit Desserts.Quince and Apple Filling is adapted from Everyday Greens.See my post on homemade puff dough for step-by-step photos and instructions; you only need half the recipe, so store the other half in the freezer, or use it to make cheese straws, palmiers, or napoleons. Or use an all-butter, store-bought dough, defrosted in the fridge overnight; or make them with pate brisee, and call them pasties, empanandas or hand-pies.As I mentioned above, you can make all the components for the turnovers ahead of time: the quince will keep in the fridge for at least 2 months; the puff dough can be stored, double-wrapped, in the freezer for 6 months; the apple quince filling can be made a day or two ahead, and the unbaked turnovers can be stored in the freezer for up to several months, then baked from frozen.This recipe makes 4 cups of roasted quince; you only need 1 cup for the turnovers, but the remainder can keep for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, or frozen for longer. Try adding extra quince slices to any apple or pear dessert, like a pie, tart, cake, crisp or pandowdy. Or enjoy the quince warm with a scoop of ice cream and a crisp cookie, or chilled with crackers and cheese for insta-membrillo.Feel free to make a double batch of turnovers and store them, unbaked, in the freezer for whenever a turnover craving strikes. It's the roasted quince that makes the recipe so unique, but lacking them, an all-apple turnover would be tasty, too. Enjoy them with a cup of tea for breakfast, wrap one up for a bojon snack in the redwoods, or serve with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of the quince syrup for dessert.On the topic of quince syrup, extras make a great soda, stirred into some sparkling water and poured over ice. Add a shot of gin and a splash of dessert wine, and garnish with a slice of quince, for the grown-up version.Nutritional values are based on one of six turnovers.