Author Notes
Apple compote sounds like a bore, I know. But these are spectacular—much better than the sum of its parts. Serve this alone, or with a nut or coconut cookie, add a scoop of Greek yogurt or coconut ice cream. Leftover syrup makes a terrific cocktail (garnish with mint) or flavored soda.
From Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts (Artisan 2012) —Alice Medrich
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Ingredients
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16
cardamom pods
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1 1/3 cups
water
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2/3 cup
fresh lime juice (from 9 or 10 limes)
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1 3/4 cups
sugar (350 grams)
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3
medium-large flavorful apples (such as Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Pippins, Pink Lady, Sierra Beauty, or Braeburn), with skins left on, cut into 8 or 10 wedges)
Directions
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Gently smash the cardamom pods with a heavy object.
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Combine the cardamom pods, water, lime juice, and sugar in a medium non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
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Add the apples to the simmering syrup and set a salad plate or saucer (slightly smaller than the diameter of the pan) on the apples to keep them submerged. Simmer very gently for 8 to 10 minutes, or until barely tender when pierced with a toothpick.
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Remove from the heat and let the apples cool without removing the saucer for about an hour, then chill them in the syrup. The apples keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. They get better with time. Serve chilled.
My career was sparked by a single bite of a chocolate truffle, made by my Paris landlady in 1972. I returned home to open this country’s first chocolate bakery and dessert shop, Cocolat, and I am often “blamed” for introducing chocolate truffles to America. Today I am the James Beard Foundation and IACP award-winning author of ten cookbooks, teach a chocolate dessert class on Craftsy.com, and work with some of the world’s best chocolate companies. In 2018, I won the IACP Award for Best Food-Focused Column (this one!).
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