After the quince preserve recipe I posted last week, I was further inspired to make one more quince dish before the season was over. This dish is so easy to put together, if you have the cooked meat and caramelized onion in the freezer. This is a flavorful sweet-&-sour, a very tasty recipe to be enjoyed with butter flavored Persian rice with plain tah-dig.
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Stew Meat: When good cuts of meat are on sale, I buy 9Kg/ 20 lbs and trim/cut/sear/simmer them. Since the meat cooks to about half its weight/size, it yields 10 plastic storage boxes/bags of cooked 545 g/ 1.2 lbs each (liquids included) to freeze. Needed for this recipe:
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 900 g/ 2 lbs stew beef cut in 5cm/2″ cubes
• 1 bay-leaf
• 2 cups water
◊ In medium sauce pan, add oil and on high heat, as soon as oil is hot, add cut onions and stirring constantly, sauté for 2 minutes. Add meat and sear all around. Add water, bay-leaf and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 1.5~2 hours, until meat is done, but not over-cooked. There should be ½ cup of liquid left. Set aside for next step of cooking or pack to freeze for further usage.
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Caramelized onion: In my opinion, crispy caramelized onions are “the” secret taste of more dishes than we can imagine. It is best to make them when sweet onions are in season. Store several bottles of them in the freezer (if not “crispy” caramelized, because they stick together, best to store then in 1~2 Tbsp individual packets).
Recipe: Crispy Caramelized Onion.
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Quince Stew | Khoresh'e Beh خورش به
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 545 g/ 1.2 lbs cooked stew meat/beef with liquid (lamb, veal or poultry may be used)
• 2 ~ 3 well-rounded Tbsp crispy caramelized onion (equivalent 1 large onion, caramelized in 3 ~ 5 Tbsp oil)
• 2 medium~large quince
• 100 g/ ½ cup granulated sugar (no more)
• 120 ml/ ½ cup water
• 3 Tbsp lime juice (lime is better, but may use lemon)
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/16 ~ 1/8 tsp ground saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
• ¼ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
![[*]](https://faestwistandtango.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tictactoe.png)
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◊ Into a medium-sized saucepan that has a lid, add quince slices, sugar, water, and bring to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat to “between medium-low and low”. Cover the saucepan with 2 layers of paper-towel, tightly close the lid and let it simmer for 35 ~ 45 minutes, depending on the quince. So the quince pieces will not fall apart, at the 35-minute mark, toothpick test, and if it goes through a tad hard, it is ready. Otherwise, put the covered lid back and cook a little more.
◊ Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 200°C/400°F.
◊ Into an oven-safe deep dish, add and spread the almost-cooked quince with its liquid. Add cooked meat with its broth. Add lime juice, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, saffron water. Add more water if needed to level with the meat and quince. Sprinkle one-half of crispy caramelized onion all over. Cover tightly with foil or with the dish’s lid and bake for 45 minutes.
◊ When ready to serve, sprinkle on the other one-half of crispy caramelized onion. Served with Persian rice / polo.
~ Noushe jan • نوش جان ~
Before remaining caramelized onion is sprinkled on (made 2015-11-07)
A few important points in making an outstanding Persian khoresh:
♦ Don’t skimp on oil… use as much as needed for frying/sautéing. Boiling oil also cooks and adds flavor. It can be skimmed off before serving.
♦ Brown/sear onion and meat very well.
♦ Adding 1/16 ~ 1/8 tsp of ground saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water, will substantially add to taste.
♦ Don’t use too much water for cooking, just enough to steam and condense. –Simmer on low heat for a long time. This helps flavor fusion of ingredients.
♦ Best if stew is made a day in advance and refrigerated for taste to meld.
♦ Almost all stews can be frozen. Exception: If stew includes potato(es), potato pieces to be removed before freezing.
♦ There are red [1] stews (using tomato paste) and green [1] stews (using herbs). Garnishing red stews sparingly with caramelized onion before serving not only further enhances taste but visually enhances the dish.
[1] Slang: ‘red’ and ‘green’ are used to specify types of stews or mixed rices, using tomato paste vs. herbs respectively. This concept also helps host/hostess plan an event menu and serve a balance of reds and greens.
For another version of quince stew (not a sweet-&-sour),
check out Ahu Easts for Ahu’s Mom’s Treat, Persian Quince Stew
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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I love quince.
The flavors here are so beautiful – and classically Persian for Khoresht. It’s nice to see that you took the quince theme and ran with it. The meat looks so luscious, I can almost taste it (with a bit of one of your polow dishes, of course, Fae).
Oh sweet Shanna, you know Persian khoresh and polo so well. It is past 9PM and reading your comment made me hungry. 😀 ))) <3
PS Happy New Year!
I wish I could eat this right now!!
Me too! 😛
Oh so mouthwatering
Another amazing and very original recipe Fae! When the season of the quince will be over,I think it would be good either with regular apples, am I wrong?
You are absolutely right. I also have a recipe for Apple Stew, very similar, a bit different. Please check it out.
I am too late for this recipe as quinces are no longer available but I shall keep it in mind for next year. I can’t really imagine you coming home with 20lbs of meat, I hope someone does the carrying?!
Since I buy them when they are on sale, I do carry them with excitement. 😀 )))
I know you make sweets with quince. Let me know how you like it in a stew.
Happy New Year, Ms. Fae ! !
Happy New Year, Darling Ren! <3
I love the sound of this dish Fae! It must have the most wonderful flavour and aroma. Wishing you and yours a wonderful and happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Margot! Yes, you got it! It is so delicious… my husband is still talking about it. 😀 )))
You always share the most interesting and delicious dishes with us…thank you. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year, Karen! I try to keep everyone interested. 😀 )))
I love this dish, Fae
In Algeria we serve this dish the first day of Ramadan to have “a sweet month” . Your version is so appetizing and the crispy caramelized onion so delicious.
I wish you a wonderful New Year to you and your family
Happy New Year, Linda! How wonderful for start of a holy month. When it is in season in your area, I would love to see how you make them (or have I seen it on your blog and not remembering?).
Considering the lunar calendar, Ramadan will start June 18, this year. About the tajine, I didn’t post the recipe on the blog but I plan to post another version (with lamb, apples, prunes and pears)…
Have a wonderful New Year, Fae
That stew sounds wonderful Fae, I had stuffed Quince that Azita made and it was delicious, I can hardly believe I have never cooked quince before. I love this stew must try it. My dear Fae, wishing you a wonderfully happy and healthy New Year, all the best in 2015.
Happy New Year, Suzanne! I remember the post you had on Azita delivering you the yummy stuffed quince. I’m not sure if she had sweet&sour version or savory. Give this flavor a go, it really is good. 😛
It was a savory version and seeing your post made me remember how kind and generous Azita was bringing me those delicious stuffed quince when I was sick.
This is gorgeous! I love it.
Happy New Year, Bee! Thank you!
Got to try this out. Caramelized onion is so appealing. Also, love the fleeing sprinkles in the photos. Awesome!
Happy New Year! When you give it a go, let me know how it turned.
Okay, Fae… you’ve convinced me… I must seek out a quince or two and finally taste what I’ve been missing. This stew looks fabulous!! I think this will be my weekend project.
Happy New Year, Nancy! Did you make it? Did you take a photo of it? You know why I’m asking? 😉
Yum! Yum! I love this dish
Happy New Year, Youssof! Yes, it is a yum yum dish!
This stew looks wonderful, Fae! Happy New Year to you, too!
Happy New Year, Nancy! It really is wonderful and satisfying. 😛
Oh, dear Fae, what a wonderful recipe. I really love quince, and I often run out of ideas for using it (as I am not into quince paste, jam, or sweets too much). I’ve made stuffed quince before, but it is such a tedious work carving out the quince flesh, this is simpler and so flavorful! Happy New Year to you!
Happy New Year, Sweet Darya! Oh, cutting/hollowing quince is tough (and dangerous too). If you like sweet & sour flavoring, you are going to love it. Beef or chicken meat, they absorb the flavoring and it is very satisfying. Do you still have quince in your market?
Yes, Fae, I can still find quince, and I might just find the time for a fragrant stew like yours… As a matter of fact, I just made poached quince in vanilla syrup this morning.