Spiced Dried Fruit Compote

This weekend is Passover, which for my family means we will have the same dinner we have had every year of my life, the same one my grandmother made and then my mom and now my sister and me (although Mom still hosts and sets pretty tables, and we outsource a lot – you really can’t do better than Kenny & Ziggy’s matzah ball soup).

The dinner (abbreviated version) is this: pate (a.k.a. chopped liver) on matzah crackers, haroset (chopped apples, figs, dates, nuts, and honey – you can read about that here), parsley sprinkled with salt water to remind us of the tears the Jewish people shed when they were enslaved in Egypt, the aforementioned matzah ball soup, brisket and a veg, and dessert. 

We don’t eat bread or cake or anything leavened on Passover to remind us that the slaves were so hurried to leave Egypt that their bread didn’t have time to rise: hence, matzah. Also, desserts that aren’t bready – flourless cakes, meringues, fruit. Outsourcing again, in recent years we’ve come to love the Lemon Vacherin from Dessert Gallery, and we especially love serving that with this Spiced Dried Fruit Compote.

Whether or not you will be celebrating Passover, this compote is a winner. Served on its own it reminds me of the stewed fruit served at breakfast in Europe. Paired with any number of breakfast or dessert options, it is a delicious way to dress up the ordinary. On yogurt, with cottage cheese, under a dollop of lightly whipped cream, alongside a slice of angel food or pound cake…you’ll be happy to have a stash in your fridge at all times, Passover or not.

Editor's note: If you are celebrating Passover, find more matzah inspiration here.

Serve this compote on yogurt, with cottage cheese, under a dollop of lightly whipped cream, alongside a slice of angel food or pound cake, or enjoy it by itself. (Photo: Andria Dilling)

Spiced Dried Fruit Compote

1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried peaches or nectarines, sliced in half
1 cup prunes
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried apple rings, sliced in half
2 apples, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
Zest from ½ lemon (use a vegetable peeler to make 3 big slices of zest)
3 cinnamon sticks
3 whole star anise

Place all of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Add water to cover by about ½ inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the fruit simmer for about 45 minutes, until it is soft. Remove from the heat and cool in the pot. Chill for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. I like to transfer the pot, covered, to the fridge to sit overnight or up to a couple of days, so that the liquid gets syrupy.