Uzvar Dried Fruit Compote
Photo: Микола Василечко, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A Christmas Eve and Lenten drink of simmered dried apples, pears, prunes, and raisins. Uzvar is served warm or cold and needs no dairy. Honey is traditional and allowed in most Orthodox fasting practice.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dried apples
- 4 ounces dried pears
- 4 ounces prunes
- ½ cup raisins
- 10 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- Strip of lemon peel
- 3 tablespoons honey, or to taste
Instructions
Rinse the dried fruit. Cover with the water in a pot and soak 1 hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, and lemon peel. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Cook uncovered until the fruit is soft and the liquid tastes like the orchard, 30 to 40 minutes. Do not boil hard or the fruit will fall apart.
Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the honey while the uzvar is still warm. Taste and add more honey if you want it sweeter.
Cool, then chill. Serve the liquid in glasses with a few pieces of fruit in each, warm or cold. Remove the spices before serving.
Notes
Orthodox fasting: no meat, dairy, or eggs. Honey is customarily allowed; skip it if you keep a stricter fast and sweeten only with the fruit. Make this a day ahead so the flavor deepens. Keep the spelling Deserts to match the existing site tag.