Poached apple and pear compote

A lovely compote flavoured with vanilla bean, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5:30 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup red wine
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 cloves
• 12 cardamon pods
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 ruby red grapefruit
• 3 apples
• 3 pears
• 2 cups apple juice
• pomegranate seeds and mint leaves, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Bring the wine, vanilla bean, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom to the boil in a large casserole dish, then reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has almost evaporated. Remove from the heat.

Slice off the peel of the grapefruit in long lengths, avoiding the bitter white pith,

then very finely slice the grapefruit peels. Remove the white pith and fibres from the grapefruit, then slice the segments in half. Peel and core the apples and pears, then cut them in half.

Stack the apples, pears and grapefruit slices into the pot. Pour in the apple juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and simmer for 3–5 hours — long, slow cooking should not cause the fruit to become mushy.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds and mint leaves, if desired, and serve warm.

Recipe from Cooking From the Heart published by Hardie Grant.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.