Quince Clafoutis

Quince is not something I'd ever cooked with, or even tasted, before. Naturally that meant that when I saw some at Sobey's I had to purchase it. And then it sat for ages in my fruit bowl until finally I figured they would need to be used before they starting going off. I decided to poach these (as they cannot be eaten raw) and use them in an adapted clafoutis. It's a French recipe that's a little bit asian, with star anise in the poached quince and Zen Green Tea liqueur in the clafoutis.

Step 1: Poaching the quince.
4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
a couple of star anise or stick of cinnamon
3 quince

I tried to peel these, then got lazy and gave up. They were simply chopped and cored and dropped in the poaching liquid, then simmered for an hour plus. These need to be drained very well, as they retain a lot of liquid. I let them sit overnight in the fridge to get as much liquid out as I could. They have a lovely fragrant flavour and would be delicious on their own just after poaching, but I didn't want the extra liquid to ruin the clafoutis.

Step 2: Making the clafoutis.
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp Zen Green Tea Liqueur
3 quince, poached

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Butter a 1 quart/1 litre dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with sugar. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the flour, cream, zest, salt, and liqueur. Set that aside and line the dish with your poached quince. Pour the batter over the quince and bake around 40-45 minutes until the custard is firm and golden.