Winter compote of dried fruit infused with orange, tea and spices

Description

At a glance

Nutrition rating

Allergy/intolerance

Serves

An easy old-fashioned dessert that's ideal for those cold nights. It starts with dried fruit (whatever you have at home) and plumps them up with tea along with the flavour of orange rind, cinnamon and cloves. One of my all-time favs.

Ingredients

Winter_compote_ingredients_1 12 dried apricots
12 prunes, pitted
12 dried apple rings
12 dried peach halves
3 tablespoons raisins
6 dried figs (optional)
3-4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
curl of orange rind
1 cup warm black tea or water
¼ cup flaked almonds, toasted, to serve
Thick Greek-style yoghurt, to serve

Methods/steps

1. Place apricots, prunes, apple rings, peaches, raisins, figs, cloves, cinnamon and rind in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add tea or water; cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. Top up with a little more tea if all the water is absorbed - there should be enough to create a little liquid when it's ready.

2. Before serving, remove cloves, cinnamon and rind from compote. Serve topped with a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle over a few almond.

Additional Tips

Tip:
To toast almonds, sprinkle almonds in a thin layer onto a non-stick frypan. Toast over moderate heat whilst stirring for 2-3 minutes until almonds are golden brown. Take care not to burn.

Preparation time: 4 hours (unattended) Cooking time: nil

Variation:
Use any mix of dried fruit you have to give you a total of 500g/1lb in weight. Even a mix of dried apricots and prunes is interesting.

Nutrition per serve:
730 kilojoules (175 calories), 3g fat (including negligible saturated fat), 30g carbohydrate (including 27g sugars), 7g fibre and 16mg sodium. Read our nutrition rating system.