Spiced Dried Fruit Compote
Ingredients:
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
Recipe directions:
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.