Spiced Fruit Compote Food

SERIOUSLY GOOD SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients, except the fruits, into a large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, uncovered. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes then remove the pan from the heat.
• Top and tail the oranges, then slice off the skin and every scrap of pith, using a small, sharp kitchen knife. Cradle each orange in the palm of your hand, hold it over the saucepan and cut out the segments, letting them drop into the syrup. Squeeze any juice from the debris into the syrup, too, then discard.
• Add the apricots and plums to the syrup and return the saucepan to a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer the fruits for 10 minutes. Leave to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours.
• Serve the poached fruits just as they are or as a brûlée: whisk the milk into the fromage frais to loosen it a little, then divide the fruits and enough juice to cover them, among six ovenproof ramekins and spoon on the fromage frais, thickly. Dust with caster sugar and then 'burn' the sugar with a blow-torch. (Or put the ramekins on a heavy baking sheet, place it under a very hot grill and leave for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has caramelised.)

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Place cinnamon sticks and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag., In a large saucepan, combine the orange juice, raisins, brown sugar, salt and ginger. Add spice bag; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Add fruit; simmer for 3 minutes. Discard spice bag. Serve fruit warm or cold with a slotted spoon.

SWEET DRIED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups of the water with the dried fruit in a large bowl. Let soak for 1 hour.
• In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups of water, orange juice, sugar, and lemon zest over medium-high heat. Add the fruit and the soaking liquid to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cinnamon and clove. Simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has softened and the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Serve warm or cold.
• Cook's Note: If using store bought dried fruit, chop the pieces into 1/2-inch chunks and simmer the mixture an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Stir first 5 ingredients in large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients; simmer until fruit is tender, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to bowl. Boil syrup in pan until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 7 minutes. Pour over fruit. Cool. Cover; chill until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a zip-top bag and toss to combine. Microwave for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on your microwave, until softened and juicy. Serve warm over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

HOT SPICE FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• In a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish, combine the pineapple, peaches, apricots, pears and cherries; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; pour over fruit. Bake uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Discard cloves. Serve warm.

CHAI-SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE WITH YOGURT

Steps:

• Bring 1-3/4 cups water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags.
• Add the honey, apricots, prunes, and raisins to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens to a light syrup, 18 to 20 minutes. (It will thicken further as it cools). Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
• Divide the yogurt among 4 small bowls. Serve the compote over the yogurt, topped with the toasted almonds.

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE WITH RICOTTA CREAM

Steps:

• Combine muscat, juices and sugar in a large pan, stir over heat without boiling until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, simmer, uncovered without stirring for about 15 minutes or until mixture is thickened slightly.
• Add carambola, dates, dried fruits, cinnamon, split vanilla bean, cardamom and rind to syrup, Simmer uncovered without stirring 10 minutes or until fruit is tender. Cool syrup, cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. DIscard cinnamon sticks, cardamom and vanilla bean, Serve with ricotta cream and crushed pistachios.
• Ricotta cream-.Beat cheese, icing sugar and cinnamon in small bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in milk.

10-MINUTE WINTER FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Tip the dried fruit, orange juice and whole spices into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on High for 4-5 mins, stirring halfway through until the juices become sticky and the fruits are plump.
• Leave the compote to stand for a minute and serve in bowls with spoonfuls of yogurt or fromage frais.

MIXED BERRY COMPOTE

Steps:

• Dissolve cornstarch in brandy in a small bowl and set aside.
• Combine mixed berries, sugar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture and boil until berries break down and compote thickens to the desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.

SPICED DRIED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• In a deep nonreactive pot, combine apples, pears, prunes and raisins. Carefully peel lemon, adding yellow peel to pot and leaving white pith behind. Squeeze juice from lemon into pot.
• Stir in remaining ingredients. Liquid should cover fruit by at least one inch; add water if necessary. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer until fruit is very tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove and discard lemon peel, cinnamon and cloves. Taste and adjust seasonings with more honey and lemon juice; compote should not be overly sweet. Serve warm.