Spiced Dried Fruit Compote

Name: Spiced Dried Fruit Compote
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 quarts
Cuisine: eastern european
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

Recipe from Tom Birchard and Natalie Danford

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Spiced Dried Fruit Compote — Natalie Behring for The New York Times

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(9)
Comments: Read comments

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. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: A Ukrainian Beacon in the East Village

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Ingredients

Yield:2 quarts

1cup dried apples, in bite-size pieces
1cup dried pears, in bite-size pieces
½cup pitted prunes
½cup raisins
1lemon, another to taste
1cup honey, more to taste
1cinnamon stick
4whole cloves
2quarts apple cider

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
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.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
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.