Compote of Winter Fruits

Name: Compote of Winter Fruits
Ingredients: 2 heaped tbsp sugar; 8 dried apricots; 12 prunes; 8 star anise (optional); 1 Lapsang tea-bag; 1 cinnamon stick; 12 peppercorns; 4 small pears (firm but not rock-hard, but not ripe enough to eat uncooked); 1 lemon; 1 piece of dried tangerine peel (optional - available from Oriental stores); 450g/1lb caster sugar; 1 bay leaf; 1 vanilla pod; 500ml/16fl oz red wine

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Keep it Simple

By Alastair Little and Richard Whittington

Published 1993

About

I serve these seasonal fruits poached in a spicy red wine syrup with a slice of Sauternes and Olive Oil Cake to give a textured contrast Make this compote at least a day ahead of serving, it will keep for a week or more in the fridge.

Ingredients

1 lemon
500ml/16fl oz red wine

Dessert
Gluten-free
Winter
Vegan

Method

Mise en Place

Make the compote the day before: use a potato peeler to scrape off the zest from the lemon.