Audrey Gordon's Tuscan Summer

This recipe was a favourite of Gemma Knox, my sous chef for many years at audrey’s. A talented cook and much-loved member of our team, Gemma was pretty much ‘one of the family’, and the day she left to get married and travel the world was a truly tearful occasion. The day she returned to open her own bistro diagonally opposite us was even less joyous and for the next 12 months we spoke only through our lawyers. (In the end we couldn’t stop her but we did manage to force an undertaking that this new venture would not feature any of my recipes or bear a name beginning with an uncapitalized vowel).

2. Combine the wine, water, sugar and spices in a heatproof, ovenproof, lidded dish and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Immediately add the quinces and peelings to the oven dish. Place in the oven to bake for 8 hours. Over this time the cooking liquor will develop a deep red colour and your entire home will be filled with the glorious smell of Christmas (unless you’ve had guests staying, in which case the scent of duty-free cologne may still be lingering).

5. Once the quinces are cooked, leave to cool. Strain and discard the spices and peelings.

6. Serve the quinces with their juice, a dollop of mascarpone and a bay leaf to garnish.

AUDREY’S TIP

If you don’t have time to cook the quinces for eight hours because your guests will soon be arriving, quarter the fruit first, then combine equal quantities of sugar and water in a saucepan. While this mixture is simmering, phone your guests to let them know that dessert will be disappointing due to the shortcuts you have been elected to take.

We’ve been charged with theft! According to the local polizia, we were witnessed ‘stealing fruit from a nearby farm’. Honestly, these fools are yet to find the rogues responsible for breaking into our house or running off with our garden furniture, yet here they are prosecuting innocent people for picking a few quinces. Seems a little pointless, does it not? To make matters worse, there’s been some disappointing news today from my publisher. Germany won’t be doing a translation.

To cheer myself up, I’ve decided to roast some lamb. Not only is it one of our favourite dishes, but while the meat’s in the oven I’ll have a chance to fire off a suitable email regarding this appalling lack of editorial support.

A quick trip to the market this morning to stock up on supplies. The bounty of summer fruit is quite overwhelming. I purchased an entire tray of luscious-looking avocados for just a few euros. Try doing that in Knightsbridge! I must say, we’re really noticing an increase in tourist numbers. The streets of San Cisterno are jammed with camera-toting visitors and it’s almost impossible to get a table at our favourite café, despite the fact that we are technically ‘locals’.

One of the longest queues was outside Trevi, a new restaurant owned by one of Italy’s most famous food identities, Romano ‘Trevi’ Boscelli. It’s funny the way people flock to restaurants owned by famous faces such as Jamie Oliver or Rick Stein (or indeed Signor Boscelli), in the misguided hope that these ‘celebrities’ will be on hand to personally prepare each meal. In reality, such high-profile proprietors are often too busy promoting a new line of overpriced ovenware to come anywhere near their own establishments. Personally, I think this is wrong. To my way of thinking, all chefs should be obliged to visit a restaurant bearing their name at least once a year, even if it’s just to inspect the kitchen and sack an apprentice.