Medlar and quince jelly with quince curd tarts

Madalene Bonvini-Hamel's recipe for medlar and quince jelly with quince curd tarts makes the most of ingredients that are at their best in November

For the medlar and quince jelly

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 10-12) • 1kg quinces
• 1kg medlars
• Juice of one lemon

METHOD
To make the medlar and quince jelly, wash and peel the quinces, then cut them into smaller pieces. Wash and chop the very ripe medlars into quarters, place the quinces and medlars in a saucepan with the juice of one lemon and cover the fruit with cold water. Bring the fruit to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Pass the cooking liquid through a jelly bag and leave overnight.

Measure 10 parts of the cooking liquid with 7 parts of caster sugar, melt the sugar and bring the liquid to a rapid simmer. Skim the impurities from the surface and cook the jelly to 107°C. Let the jelly cool slightly and then pour it into chosen moulds and leave to set.

For the quince curd

INGREDIENTS •10 large quinces + 50g sugar
•65g lemon juice
•125g caster sugar
•4 whole eggs
•75g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

METHOD Pre-heat the oven to 110°C. Peel the quinces; place them in a vacuum bag with the 50g of sugar and seal on hard vacuum. Place them in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, then leave to cool.

Cut the soft quince flesh into smaller pieces and place it in a Thermomix bowl with the remaining sugar and blend until smooth. Add the eggs and lemon juice, set the timer for 12 minutes at 90°C, speed 4. Once the time is done, turn the speed dial to 10 and blend for 1 minute, adding the cold butter pieces one at a time.

Transfer the curd to a container to cool.

For the crème fraiche espuma

INGREDIENTS 300g crème fraiche
100g double cream
50g caster sugar
2 leaves of gelatine, soaked

METHOD Soak the gelatine in cold water until completely soft, and squeeze to remove the excess water.

Place the cream, soaked gelatine and caster sugar in a metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water, then stir until the sugar and soaked gelatine dissolve. Remove the bowl from the heat, add the crème fraiche and mix.

Pour the mixture into a 1 litre cream gun, secure the lid and charge the gun with two gas charges. Shake vigorously and place the cream gun in the fridge to chill - it will need about 2 hours to chill completely.

When you are ready to use the espuma shake the cream gun vigorously to loosen the mixture.

For the sweet pastry

INGREDIENTS
•460g plain flour
•280g unsalted butter, at room temperature
•160g caster sugar
•2 eggs
•1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out

METHOD Preheat the oven to 170°C. Rub the butter and vanilla seeds into the flour and sugar, add the eggs and bring the pastry together without over-working the pastry.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide it into appropriate sizes. Do not knead the pastry, just push it together into flat squares.

Refrigerate the pastry for at least a half an hour before rolling it out.

Line the chosen moulds and blind bake the pastry cases until cooked. Cool completely.

TO SERVE
Pipe the quince curd onto the jelly, followed by a squirt of the crème fraiche foam. Garnish with a light sprinkle of sumac. Spoon the quince curd into the tart cases, sprinkle praline over and glaze the tarts using a blowtorch. Serve immediately.