Winter Fruit Compote

There is a certain decadence to compote. The word is French, and so is the custom of serving it as a light dessert. When I think compote, I picture a long late night dinner accompanied by an intellectual conversation in French and a cake with compote served at the end. Otherwise, a hybrid of beverage, cold soup and dessert, compote is a rare animal on the modern-day tables.

But compote is not a compote is not a compote. We, Russians, have ours too. Russian kompot is certainly a beverage with just enough fruits to lend their flavor and plenty of water and sugar. We may drink it freshly made, but mostly kompot is a way to preserve the precious crop. My favorite is the strawberry compote my grandma made in summer. Then throughout the year on the days of family celebrations someone would dive in the darkness of a cellar holding a bulb fixed on a wooden plank with a long curly wire and emerge back holding a 3L jar of the strawberry compote to my delight.

Compote (komposto or hoşaf in Turkish) is also a long-standing Ottoman tradition. A beverage with the satisfying amount of fruits could be served with the meals, in particularly as a side dish to assorted pilafs and meat stews, showing characteristic for the Ottoman cuisine presence of meat and fruits in one meal. Also compote used to be served after meals as a dessert. That’s the beauty of the Turkish compote: you can enjoy the beverage first and then proceed to the dessert of stewed fruit. It’s your two-in-one!

Turkish compote, or hoşaf, can be made of any seasonal fruit and even flowers - fresh or dried - apple, pear, quince, strawberry, grape, orange, cherry, pomegranate, rose petals and their mixtures. You should not be surprised finding nuts in your hoşaf: you soak them the night before like the dried fruits, and the next day they mingle well with the rest of the ingredients, plump and soft. What a different use of the nuts that we tend to roast rather than soften!

The first time I made compote in Turkey I spent an hour removing skins from the blanched apricots. I mean, do you know many people who remove apricot skins before letting these dignified fruits join their companions in the delightful dish? Well, you do - it’s me! My guests were astound. Both by the hard-to-classify dessert and by my determination. Since that compote I gave up any ambition to play a hoşaf başı (cook in charge of preparing compote) from the Topkapı palace kitchens and started making down to earth but nevertheless delicious versions like this plum compote my family loves.

When I saw the book Serbet ve Hoşaf by Elif Ayla and the exotic beverages listed there, I could not resist. This winter fruit compote from the book spoke to both my cravings for a comforting morning fruit dish and my memories of the Soviet childhood when the compote of dried fruits was a staple at any canteen. No wonder: we used to be an empire too.

Winter Fruit Compote (Kış Meyve Hoşafı)

Adapted from Serbet ve Hoşaf by Elif Ayla

I turned this hoşaf into a fruit stew that can served as a morning porridge, or as a dessert with ice-cream, or pretty much as is. If you are making a proper hoşaf, it should be thinner: in a serving bowl 1/3 is the fruits and 2/3 is the liquid. In that case you can double the amount of water (and sugar if you wish).

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min

Ingredients

1/4 cup (about 12 halves) naturally dried plums
2/3 cups (about 8 large pieces) naturally dried apricots
1/4 cup naturally dried black raisins
2 tbsp shelled pistachio
1 small apple
1 small pear
2 cups water
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 dry cloves (optional)

Directions

The night before wash the dry plums and apricots and together with pistachios soak in cold water: the water should cover the fruits by 1 finger.

In the morning strain the soaked fruits and nuts and reserve the liquid. Thinly slice the pears and apricots, leave the raisins and pistachios as is. In a medium size pot bring to a boil 1 cup water plus the reserved liquid. Add the soaked fruits and pistachios and simmer covered on the low heat for 7 min.

Meanwhile, cut the pear and apple into matchsticks. Transfer the chopped pear and apple to the compote and add the brown sugar and clove (if using). Simmer covered for 7 min until the pear and apple soften. Remove from the heat and let steep for 5-7 min. Serve lukewarm or cool. This compote benefits from a day in the fridge as the flavors fully develop.