Summer berry compote on vanilla ice cream

This is wonderful on top of vanilla ice cream. I first ate it fifty years ago at the Vienna Opera House in the interval, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve forgotten the opera but still remember the ice cream. I serve the compote cold in the summer and warm and spicy in the winter. I make it when there’s a glut of berries in the garden or when they can be had cheaply, making some plain and some spiced. The biscotti turn what could be a breakfast dish into a dessert posh enough for a dinner party.<