Pear, Apple and Cherry Compote

Growing up, the only dessert I ever remember my grandma actually making was a fruit compote... a traditionally Jewish dessert consisting of dried fruit in a sugary syrup. I've been craving a lot of fruit lately and thought I'd try to create an updated version of my grandma's favorite dessert (since I am not the biggest fan of dried prunes). Seeing as how the fall season means lots of beautiful apples and pears at the Farmer's Market, I opted for an apple and pear compote, studded with tangy dried cherries. Instead of only using dried fruits, I went with an assortment of fresh and dried fruits, flavored with some ginger (a flavor my grandma most likely didn't use), cinnamon and orange. The resulting compote was very flavorful and perfect to top my morning greek yogurt with!

Ingredients

2 bartlett pears, peeled and diced

2 Jonagold apples, peeled and diced

1 70z container dried pears

1 70z container dried apple rings

1 70z container dried cherries

1 large navel orange

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 cup sugar

4 cups water

1 inch piece of ginger, sliced in half

Start by peeling your apples and pears and cutting into chunks.

With a vegetable peeler, remove two long strips of orange peel and add them to a large saucepan with water, sugar, the cinnamon stick and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While boiling, juice the orange and set aside for later use.

Gather your dried fruits.....

and add them to the saucepan and let simmer for five minutes.

Stir in the fresh apples and pears and simmer for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the fresh squeezed orange juice and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let it stand for another 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick, orange peels and ginger before serving the fruit compote!