Chilled Cherry Compote
It is worth paying extra for the canned cherries which are ready-stoned, not only because the cans contain more cherries, but also because stoning cherries is a tedious and often messy task.Use a potato peeler to pare a thin strip of zest from the lemon; this way you will remove only the outer coloured part of the skin, not the bitter white pith underneath.
Ingredients
- 2 lb canned stoned cherries drained, with syrup reserved
- 5 cm 2 inch stick cinnamon, or large pinch of ground cinnamon
- 5 cm 2 inch strip lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- about 2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly or to taste
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot
- 2 tablespoons water
to serve
- 4 tablespoons thick natural yoghurt
- 8 ratafias
Instructions
- Put the cherries into a large bowl and set aside.
- Pour the reserved cherry syrup
- into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Add the cinnamon, lemon zest and juice and 2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly. Stir over low heat to dissolve the jelly, then bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
- Blend the arrowroot with the water, then stir into the syrup. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the syrup thickens slightly and is clear. Taste and stir in more redcurrant jelly to sweeten, if necessary.
- Strain the syrup through a nylon sieve over the cherries. Mix well, then leave to cool. Cover and refrigerate the compote for 1 - 2 hours.
- To serve: spoon the cherries and syrup into 4 individual glass dishes. Top each with 1 tablespoon yoghurt and 2 ratafias. (Stand the ratafias upright and at a slight angle, like butterfly wings.)
Calories: 291 kcal
Carbohydrates: 59 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 7 mg
Sodium: 118 mg
Potassium: 564 mg
Fiber: 5 g
Sugar: 38 g
Vitamin A: 182 IU
Vitamin C: 17 mg
Calcium: 64 mg
Iron: 1 mg