Stovetop Winter Compôte

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Stovetop Winter Compôte

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Dilip Barman

Dilip Barman

  • ✓ 1/2 cup fresh (rinsed) or frozen cranberries (if you just want a hint of cranberry flavor, try 1/4 cup; 1⁄2 cup tells you more clearly but not overwhelmingly that cranberries are present)
  • ✓ 3/4 cup fresh (rinsed) or frozen blueberries
  • ✓ 1 navel orange, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2” cubes -OR- 1⁄2 cup frozen or fresh seedless grapes, quartered
  • ✓ Medium firm apple or pear, core removed and cut into 1/4” cubes or briefly pulse blended into slightly smaller chunks. Lately, we’ve been getting amazing Sugar Bee apples and I love using them pulse-blended. My family likes this dish better with apple (try any sweet firm variety like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp – said to be a parent of Sugar Bee, Fuji, or Gala) than pear, but if you can find firm, small Seckel pears, give them a try (otherwise my favorite pear choice for this is a firm Bosc).
  • ✓ 1t cinnamon
  • ✓ (optional) 6 cloves
  • ✓ (optional) 1⁄4 cup raisins (adds more sweetness and chewiness)
  • ✓ (optional) 1/2 t finely diced ginger or 1t candied ginger cut into 1⁄4” cubes
  • ✓ 1⁄2 t vanilla (more is fine; feel free to try 1t or a tiny bit more, but it is an expensive ingredient)
  • ✓ (optional) 1T semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
  • ✓ (optional) light shakes of cocoa powder

Next, follow the steps to finalize your dish and finally be able to enjoy it!

  1. Put the cranberries in a blender (unless you are using a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, first let frozen cranberries partially or fully defrost to avoid damaging the blades) and quickly pulse chop them into a chunky slurry.
  2. Put the cranberries, blueberries, oranges, apples/pears, and cinnamon into a sauce pan.
  3. Add any of the optional cloves, raisins, and/or ginger.
  4. Heat on medium-high uncovered, stirring occasionally until the orange starts breaking down into juice (about 2-3 minutes).
  5. Simmer on low, covered, and stirring occasionally, to the desired softness (try 2-4 minutes if everything is fresh; if using frozen berries, try 4-8 minutes). If you feel that the compote Is getting a bit dry, add a splash of lime, lemon, or orange juice.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Optionally serve with chocolate chips sprinkled atop and one light shake of cocoa per serving.

Notes:-

  • Many recipes for compôte call for sweetener and you can certainly add perhaps 2T of maple syrup or 1T of date syrup, but I find that, unless you have a batch of particularly sour cranberries or blueberries, this doesn’t need it. My preteen enjoys this with no added sweetener. (Surprisingly she doesn’t like ginger but asked me to increase the ginger in this recipe!)
  • The recipe is very adaptable – feel free to substitute with or add other fruits that you prefer. Chopped cherry – fresh or dried – is great; if you want more sweetness, chopped date added in the final few minutes of cooking is tasty. People who like alcohol may like a tiny bit of rum cooked into the dish in the final few minutes.
  • I like to put the compôte into bowls and enjoy it immediately, warm. You can serve it atop vegan yogurt or a vegan “ice cream” (see my peach “ice cream” recipe at bit.ly/soManyFruitsRefs, for example), or with toasted or raw oatmeal. My family loves the compôte all by itself!
  • Makes approximately 4 large 3⁄4 cup servings.

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