I know some people think it’s too old fashioned, but I have always loved — still love — dried fruit compote.
Last year I wrote about it for The Nosher (My Jewish Learning) and got lots of responses! It’s the kind of dish that some people absolutely hate (until they try some updated version) but people like me love not just for the flavor but also the memories this dish conjures up.
I grew up in an Ashkenazi Jewish family so dried fruit compote was a given! My grandmother, who made it basically with prunes and the occasional dried apricot, called it kumput. The young kids, me included, hated it.
Years later I rediscovered the dish after trying something similar (Khoshaf) in Egypt and I’ve been tinkering with the recipe ever since. This is my latest version; a tasty and fitting dish anytime, but especially for the lovely holiday of Tu B’shevat (New Year of the Trees), which comes at the beginning of a new season in Israel when trees bring forth their first fruits of the year (this year the holiday starts at sundown on February 5th).
We eat compote with yogurt for breakfast but I’ve also served it with mascarpone cheese for dessert. It’s really good anytime.
Dried Fruit Compote
2 cups orange juice
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup honey
1 3” cinnamon stick
12 whole cloves
2 pieces of orange peel, each about 2-inches long
12 prunes
8-10 whole dried figs, cut in half
1 cup dried cherries, blueberries or cranberries
1 cup dried apricot halves
Place the juice, water, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and orange peel in a saucepan large enough to hold all the dried fruit. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the fruit and simmer another 18-20 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Let the fruit cool in the pan. The sauce will thicken as the fruit absorbs some of it. Discard the cinnamon stick (you won’t find the cloves). Serve with the poaching liquid.
Makes 8 servings