Late autumn and winter is quince season; fresh quince is a hard fruit with a sour and astringent taste, so it can’t be eaten raw like an apple or a pear.

It is also a fruit that sets jelly and jams well because it has a high concentration of pectin. Quince can be roasted, baked or poached with sugar, becoming bright red in colour.

It is delicious with meats such as lamb and pork. In Persian cuisine it is used in casseroles or stuffed with meat.

One of my favorite quince products is Membrillo, commonly used in Spain and some Latin American countries. It is hard , dark red jelly which goes great with Manchego cheese.

For breakfast I will make a souffle omlet pared with some quince jelly, I bought from my favorute local shop.

Souffle omelette with quince jelly

serves 2

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10g butter
• powder sugar (for decoration)
• 2 tablespoons quince jelly
• 2 tablespoons of walnuts, crushed

Preheat the oven to 180C /350F.

Separate the eggs.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.

Put the egg butter into pan and melt it over the yolk mixture, and than carefully fold in the rest of the whites.

Cook the omelet for 1-2 minutes or until light golden brown underneath.

Put the oven on the medium shelf for 5-6 minutes.

Carefully spread the jam and fold, then with a spatula transfer on a plate and sprinkle with a powder sugar.

Quince sauce

• 280g quince / or one quince fruit
• 55g sugar
• 3 tablespoons of water

Peel and cut the quince into cubes.

Put th cubed quince in a pan together with sugar and water.

Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 – 20 min or until tender.Sieve the quince and reserve. Return the liquid into the pot.

Bring the liquid to a boil for 1 minute, until it thickens, then pour over the reserved quince. Let it cool.

Put the fruit into a blender and blend until smooth.

Chestnut flour is made from dry, finely ground chestnuts and it has a wonderful sweet flavor. You can use it in exchange of regular flour in a variety of baking recipes such as crepes, bread or pasta. You can find it in specialty stores.

Chestnuts are low in fat and high in carbohydrates, they contain no gluten so can be used when someone is sensitive to wheat.

Usually chestnut flour is added in a ratio of 30-50%; be aware that if you use a higher proportion the taste can be a little overpowering.

I like to make waffles on Saturday mornings, in the recipe below I have exchanged part of the regular flour for chestnut flour, that gives the waffles a mild sweet taste. I suggest you serve them with a delicious chestnut cream.

• 150g white flour
• 50g chestnut flour
• 1 egg, room temperature, lightly whisked
• 300ml milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of butter, melted or tablespoon of sunflower oil
• extra oil for brushing
• 2-3 tablespoons of walnuts, crushed
• 200g chestnut puree
• 200ml double cream, or whipping cream
• powder sugar for decoration

Heat the waffle iron and then grease with oil.

In a large bowl, sift the flours, baking powder and salt.

Add the tablespoon of brown sugar.

In a small bowl mix the milk, egg and melted butter.

Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and then pour in the liquid ingredients. Mix.

With the spatula spread the butter so that it almost reaches the edges of the waffle iron.

Cook until browned.

Brush the waffle iron with oil before you make a new batch.

In a small bowl mix the chestnut puree and 2 tablespoons of water to make it lighter.

In a bowl whisk the cream, and gently fold the chestnut puree.

Top the waffles with the cream and sprinkle a little bit of powder sugar over.