Warm quince and hazelnut salad

Ingredients

• 750mlåÊapple juice
• 1 star anise
• 2 cloves
• 1 quince, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 1 large handfulåÊkale, roughly torn
• 1/4 red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 50g shaved parmesan or pecorino cheese

Method

Pour the apple juice into a small saucepan, add the star anise, cloves and quince and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour or until the quince is nice and soft. Remove the quince from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and set aside. åÊReserve the cooking liquid for the dressing.

Meanwhile place the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan and cook until just fragrant. Remove and tip into a clean tea towel. Rub so you remove most of the skins and set the nuts aside too.

Place the kale and cabbage on a serving platter and then make the dressing.

Measure out 1 cup of the apple juice mixture used for poaching the quinces. Bring this to a rolling boil, add the sugar and vinegar and cook until reduced to a syrupy consistency.

Let cool and then whisk in the olive oil. Add the quinces and hazelnuts to the platter and gently toss.

Dress the salad with cooled dressing and then sprinkle with cheese.

Note

• If you can‰Ûªt find (or don‰Ûªt love) quinces, swap for roasted beetroot or thinly sliced fresh pear or figs. If you are a fan of quinces though, jump over toåÊLocal is LovelyåÊfor three more quince recipes (these ones are all sweet).
• This dressing is delicious on pretty much anything and would also be great over a warm salad of roast pumpkin, grilled and thinly sliced venison or lamb or pork tenderloin with a few handfuls of rocket, some goat‰Ûªs cheese and toasted almonds.
• This recipe was created by Sophie Hansen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s beståÊrecipe finder. You can follow Sophie onåÊåÊLocal is Lovely,åÊFacebook,åÊTwitteråÊoråÊPinterest.