Winter Fruit Compote

Name: Winter Fruit Compote
Yield: makes four 16-ounce jars
Ingredients: 3 1/3 cups dried figs; 1 1/4 cups unsulfured dried apricots; 2 1/3 cups dried prunes, Agen prunes if possible, preferably with pits; 4 1/4 cups freshly made hot green tea, Earl Grey, or breakfast tea; 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice; 7 tablespoons honey

January 24, 2012

Season: winter. It may seem somewhat unnecessary to preserve dried fruit, but I love having a few jars of this compote on the shelf. The once-shriveled fruits become plump and luscious and are quite delicious served alone for breakfast or with yogurt or crème fraîche as a dessert. I like to make this in early November, when newly dried prunes, figs, and apricots are available. Keep on the lookout for small, dried wild figs, which will plump up perfectly to their original shapely selves. The glistening black prunes from the Agen area in southern France are also key players–I prefer to use these un pitted because they infuse the compote with an almondlike essence. A simplified version of the oven method is used–everything is cooked and hot to start with, so the jars don’t need to be heated for an extended time in the oven.

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