Quince Dolma with Beef Chestnuts and Barberries
In Azerbaijani, dolma simply means “stuffed.” It could be vegetables, grape leaves, or even fruit, filled with ground meat, rice, herbs, and spices, then simmered gently in a bit of liquid and fat.
In 2019, I was lucky enough to visit Azerbaijan twice. The first time was in June, a three week holiday with Troy and the kids. The second was in September for work, which meant a lot of travelling and even more eating.
During that September trip, I stayed at mama’s apartment in Baku in between work commitments. Autumn in Baku is something special. The heavy heat of summer finally breaks, and you feel like you can breathe again. People are out and about, strolling through the streets in the middle of the day without wilting. Markets are full of beautiful autumn produce: pomegranates, persimmons, feijoas, chestnuts, quinces. Everything is piled high in stalls, baskets, and boxes.
One afternoon, walking back to mama’s, I passed a fruit vendor with boxes of what I though from distance were fuzzy yellow pears. Except they weren’t pears. They were quinces. I picked out six of the best looking ones and carried them home.
The next day, my last before flying back to Australia, mama made quince dolma. She stuffed them with ground beef, chestnuts, and barberries. It was wonderfully fragrant, slightly sweet and slightly tangy. Comforting in that untranslatable way that comes from food made by your mother, in her kitchen, just for you.
Quinces are strange little things. They smell like flowers but are rock hard and almost impossible to eat raw. Spongy, tart, astringent. But once they are cooked, they transform into something else entirely. They soften, mellow, and take on a deep, almost perfumed flavour that works just as well in a jam as it does in a savoury dish like dolma.
Although quince season in Azerbaijan falls in autumn, here in Western Australia, especially in the Southern Forests where growers like Apple Tech in Manjimup produce them locally, we tend to see quinces from late autumn through winter, often carrying on into July. Which is exactly why this dish, so rooted in autumnal flavours, belongs on my winter recipe page.
Once upon a time, quinces grew wild in the foothills of the Caucasus.
Long before they found their way into jams and stews, they were a fruit of story and symbol. In ancient times, people linked quinces with love, fertility, and mysticism. Some believed they were the true golden apples of Eden, offered to goddesses and newlyweds alike.
Tiny and jewel-like, barberries are sharp little bursts of flavour. Their vivid red skins carry a natural tang that cuts through richness and brightens both savoury and sweet dishes. They grow on thorny shrubs and ripen into small, oblong fruit that farmers harvest and dry. Cooks in Persian and Central Asian kitchens often rehydrate them with warm water or butter, then stir them into rice or stews.
For centuries, people have used barberries in traditional medicine. They pack in antioxidants and contain berberine, a natural compound that may help support digestion and regulate blood sugar. Just a spoonful can brighten up an entire pot.
Quince Dolma with Beef, Chestnuts and Barberries
A gently spiced, slow-cooked dish filled with autumn warmth and winter comfort. Tangy and sweet quinces soften as they simmer, soaking up the richness of minced beef, chestnuts, and barberries. This is a dish made for colder days; fragrant, nourishing, and best shared. Serve it with fluffy, aromatic rice to catch every drop of sauce.
Ingredients
5 small quinces (about 1 kg total)
1 ½ lemons, juiced
1 large brown onion, peeled and finely diced
450 g fatty minced beef
6–8 large chestnuts, blanched, peeled, and finely diced
1 tablespoon barberries
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon chopped mint or coriander
1 teaspoon sea salt
10 turns of freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Pomegranate arils and dried mint leaves, for serving
Method
Fill a large bowl halfway with water and add the juice of 1 lemon. Cut the quinces in half lengthways, remove the cores, and carve out the centers with a spoon, leaving 1.5 cm thick walls. Finely dice the scooped-out flesh, toss with a few drops of lemon juice, and place the carved quince halves in the lemon water to prevent browning.
In a frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add the finely diced onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the diced quince flesh, chestnuts, and barberries. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, then add the pomegranate molasses and cook for another 1–2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix the minced beef with the cooled filling mixture, chopped mint or coriander, salt, and pepper. Remove the quince halves from the water, pat dry, and stuff them with the filling, pressing gently to form a small mound on each.
Choose a lidded pan that fits the quinces snugly. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan over medium heat, add the juice of the remaining half lemon, then arrange the stuffed quinces filling-side up. Pour in 1 cup of water, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 30–40 minutes, until the quinces are tender and the liquid mostly evaporated.
While the dolma simmers, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a separate pan. Add the sliced onion and cook over medium-high heat until caramelised, about 10 minutes. If you have extra barberries, stir them in for the last minute.
Transfer the cooked quince dolma to a serving dish. Spoon over the caramelised onions and pan juices, then finish with a sprinkle of dried mint leaves and pomegranate arils.
