Summer Cherry Compote

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Cherries make a beautiful fruit compote, if you cook them down with a splash of orange juice, you'll be left with a sweet Summery cherry sauce. Serve swirled through natural yogurt, or pour over warm pancakes, or cold ice cream. It feels like such a treat, when actually the sum of the parts are pretty healthy. Another great tip, and something my children love, is this compote layered with yogurt, in ice lolly moulds, then frozen. You’ll have a ripple effect cherry and yogurt lollies to enjoy.

My latest lockdown discovery is frozen cherries: where the hard work has been done for you and they are already pitted. This saves a lot of time and mess: you should be able to find them in the frozen section of most good supermarkets.  If you are using fresh cherries I recommend this brilliant cherry pitter #af link (it is also great for olives), which makes quick work of the real thing.

 
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You need ~

  • 200g pitted cherries, frozen or fresh

  • 75ml fresh orange juice (3 large oranges)

  • 1-2 tablespoons water, if needed

  • 1 tablespoon honey*, this is optional

*Not suitable for babies under 1 years

 

To Prep ~

Take a metal sauce pan and add the cherries and orange juice. Then simmer for 5-10 mins, the cherries should be soft and cooked, the sauce will reduce and become syrupy. You can add 1-2 tablespoons water if needed and then finish with 1 tablespoon honey (although the latter is optional).

Cool completely in a china bowl and then spoon over your dish of choice.

fruitMiriam Cooper