Name: Dried Fruit Compote with Fresh Pineapple, Pistachios, and Mint
Yield: Yield: 8 to 10 Generous Servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: ½ cup dried apricots, halved, or quartered if large; 1 pound pitted prunes (about 2½cups); ½ cup sugar minus 1 tablespoon; if not using dates, use ½ cup sugar; Pinch of salt; ½ fresh orange; Chopped toasted pistachios, or sliced blanched almonds, for garnish; 2 or 3 cardamom pods, crushed; 3 whole cloves; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; Chopped fresh mint, for garnish; 1 cinnamon stick; ¼ cup dates, pitted and chopped (optional); One 2-inch piece vanilla bean, split; 2 bags fragrant black tea, such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Assam, or Darjeeling; 1 perfectly ripe fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into bite-size chunks(see Cook’s Note)

Preparation info

Yield:
8 to 10
Generous Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Jewish Holiday Cooking

By Jayne Cohen

Published 2008

About

When the chill weather comes, old-fashioned dried fruit compotes are the classic finish to simple Sabbath dinners. Light and wholesome, they taste of deep flavors and contain no milk products to compromise the dietary laws.

But there’s the rub. Without the tart dairy tang of sour cream, crème fraîche, or yogurt as complement, the meltingly silky fruit turns cloyingly sugary after just a few bites. A sweet compote needs a bright acidic sparkle to pull its flavors into balance.