Quince and Lamb Sausage Tray Bake
Perfect for a busy weeknight meal my Quince and Lamb Sausage Traybake is an all-in-one meal that involves simple prep, low-touch cooking and clean up is a breeze!
To flavour my traybake, I’ve taken inspiration from Tunisia and Persia and used the warm spices of spiced cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and sweet paprika.
Apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and pomegranate molasses add sweetness and a welcome hit of acidity to the dish.
While everything cooks away the liquids in the pan pick up all the flavours of the spices, lamb, and quince, turning into a delicious sweet/sharp flavoured pan sauce.
A little fresh mint to finish, and dinner is ready!
Quince has a marvelous almost floral fragrance, that is a combination of pear, apple with a hint of vanilla and citrus. Raw, it’s quite hard, sour, and astringent. When cooked the aroma of the quince intensifies, the texture softens, and it mellows to a sweet, slightly piquant flavour that pairs beautifully with the cinnamon and cardamom in the dish.
If quince are not available, a mixture of pear and apple makes a good substitute. Choose varieties that will hold their shape in cooking, such as Bosc or Anjou pears, and Courtland, fuji or gala apples.
Ingredients
- 2 red onions peeled and cut into wedges
- 6-8 garlic cloves
- 3 thin skinned potatoes cut into wedges (or equivalent amount baby potatoes)
- 120 ml olive oil
- 100 ml hot water
- 3 quince cored and cut into wedges
- 6 lamb sausages
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 sprigs mint
- ¼ cup mint leaves for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/ 400°F
- Place the onion, potatoes, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet, or a large roasting pan.Mix together 85 ml (5tbs) of the olive oil with 100 ml of hot water. Pour over top, and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss everything together, then bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the vegetables have started to soften and take on a bit of colour.
- Peel the quince and halve lengthwise. Place in a bowl cold water with the juice of a lemon so that they don’t turn brown. Use a melon baller or teaspoon to remove the seeds, then cut each half into wedges.
- Remove the baking sheet form the oven and add the quince and the sausages. Nestle in the sprigs of mint and the cinnamon sticks.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, brown sugar, pomegranate molasses, the remaining 35 ml (2tbsp) of olive oil and 35ml of water of water.Add the ground cumin, cardamom, sweet paprika, cinnamon, and ½ tsp salt and a few good grinds of freshly ground pepper, and whisk to combine.Pour evenly over the ingredients on the baking sheet.
- Return baking sheet to the oven and cook for another 40 minutes, turning the sausages at the halfway point. The onions, sausages and potatoes should be nicely browned and the sauce will be slightly sticky and bubbling. If not quite brown enough, increase the oven temperature to 220°C/425°F and roast for another 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve with some fresh mint leaves sprinkled over top.