SPICED DRIED FRUIT COMPOTE

Spiced Dried Fruit Compote image

The East Village Ukrainian restaurant Veselka serves the Sviata Vecheria, a traditional 12-dish dinner that is meatless and dairy-free. It is eaten before Mass on Christmas Eve and is followed, on Christmas morning, by a prodigious feast of ham and sausages. Sviata Vecheria ends with uzvar, a sweet, spiced compote of dried fruit.

Provided by Julia Moskin

Time 30m

Yield 2 quarts

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1 cup dried apples, in bite-size pieces
1 cup dried pears, in bite-size pieces
1/2 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup raisins
1 lemon, another to taste
1 cup honey, more to taste
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
2 quarts apple cider

Steps:

In a deep nonreactive pot, combine apples, pears, prunes and raisins. Carefully peel lemon, adding yellow peel to pot and leaving white pith behind. Squeeze juice from lemon into pot.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Liquid should cover fruit by at least one inch; add water if necessary. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer until fruit is very tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove and discard lemon peel, cinnamon and cloves. Taste and adjust seasonings with more honey and lemon juice; compote should not be overly sweet. Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 110, UnsaturatedFat 0 grams, Carbohydrate 29 grams, Fat 0 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 0 grams, SaturatedFat 0 grams, Sodium 7 milligrams, Sugar 25 grams, TransFat 0 grams