Make Ahead

Autumn Fruit Compote

by:
September 11, 2009
0
0 Ratings
Autumn Fruit Compote
  • Serves Many
Author Notes

I love to prepare this recipe in late summer/early autumn when an abundance of pumpkins, apples and pears appear on local farm stands and at farmers' markets. The compote works well as a condiment with roast turkey, chicken, game, and slow cooked meats. I like to use a few varieties of pears (seckel, comice, anjou, bosc, bartlett, seckel) and apples (honey crisp, pippin, baldwin, macoun, mackintosh, winesap, jonagold). Sometimes I add dried cherries, dried apple rings, and prunes to the mix. Feel free to add what you like to the compote. The quantity of apples and pears you need for this recipe depends upon the capacity of your pumpkin. —Leslie_

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 medium to large pumpkin
  • apples
  • pears
  • prune plums
  • raisins (organic flame)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 orange
  • 1-2 handfuls dried apricots
  • 1-2 handfuls dried figs
  • 1-2 handfuls walnuts &/or pecans
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • cinammon (sticks or ground)
  • ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
Directions
  1. Cut the top off the pumpkin and set aside. Hollow out the seeds and scrape inside of pumpkin clean.
  2. Peel apples and pears, remove seeds and cut into slices. Remove pits from prune plums. Put fruit in a large bowl.
  3. Add juice of 1/2 lemon and cut remaining half into thin slices and add to fruit.
  4. Slice orange into thin slices and add to fruit.
  5. Add chopped, dried fruits, nuts, raisins and spices to taste.
  6. Add about 1/2 cup maple syrup, the orange juice and apple cider to the fruit and nut mixture and mix.
  7. Fill hollowed out pumpkin and replace the reserved top with the stem. Put pumpkin on a baking sheet (or roasting pan) lined with aluminum foil.
  8. Bake 6-7 hours in a pre-heated 250 degree oven, adding more liquid as needed.
  9. Turn off oven but leave the pumpkin inside to cool to room temperature. Hint: You can put the pumpkin in the oven to cook in the afternoon and leave it in the oven overnight.
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1 Review

MrsWheelbarrow
MrsWheelbarrow September 13, 2009
this looks just fantastic. we have a post-thanksgiving BIG party at our house, and i plan to put this on the sideboard. great presentation! (is that a pumpkin growing in your garden?)