• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

MACERATED FRUIT

MAKES AT LEAST 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 6 TO 48 HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

THIS RECIPE, adapted from a classic by cookbook author Claudia Roden, is a longtime personal favorite. It becomes heavenly if you add a little rose and/or orange flower water.

1 pound assorted dried fruit:

apricots, pears, peaches, prunes, raisins, etc.

¼ cup pine nuts or slivered blanched almonds

1½ teaspoons rose water (optional)

1½ teaspoons orange flower water (optional)

¼ cup sugar, or to taste

Sour cream or crème fraîche

1. Combine everything but the sour cream in a bowl and add water to cover. Stir and let sit, at room temperature, for at least 6 hours. The fruit is ready when it is soft and the liquid is syrupy.

2. To serve, put some fruit in a bowl and garnish with sour cream.

POACHED CHERRIES

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES

SOUR CHERRIES ARE too acidic to eat raw but are the best for cooking. This simple preparation amounts to cherry pie without the crust.

1 to 2 pounds cherries, preferably sour

½ cup sugar, or more to taste

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Fresh lemon juice, if using sweet cherries, or to taste

1. Pit the cherries and combine them with ½ cup of water in a medium saucepan; turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are very tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the sugar and the cinnamon if you are using it; taste and add more sugar or lemon juice if you like. Cool, then chill and serve the cherries cold, with their juice.

BUYING DRIED FRUIT

SINCE THE PREPARATION of this dish is absolutely foolproof, the challenge (and most of the fun) lies entirely in the shopping, especially since there is an incredible variety of dried fruits available, much of it of superhigh quality. In the course of fine-tuning this recipe, I tried not only the obvious prunes, figs, apricots, peaches, and pears, but also cherries, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, and even banana. I tend toward the traditional but really enjoyed the tartness that dried pineapple added to the mixture and encourage you to experiment and find the mix of fruits that suits you best.

DRIED FRUIT POACHED IN PORT

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 45 MINUTES

NOTHING CAN MATCH dried fruit for convenience and intensity of flavor. And when you poach an assortment with port and a few spices, the results belie the ease of preparation. This is not a summer dessert—no one would mistake this for fresh fruit—but it is delicious, low-fat, and a welcome change from heavy winter desserts. One tip: Use a port you’ll enjoy drinking (or buy a half bottle), because you’re going to use less than a third of a full-size bottle in this recipe.

12 prunes

8 figs

4 dried apricot or peach halves

4 dried pear halves

3 pieces candied ginger

1 clove

5 allspice berries

5 peppercorns

1 whole star anise

One 1-inch cinnamon stick

1 cup port, preferably ruby, late bottled vintage or vintage

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to very low and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes, at which point most of the port will have been absorbed.

2. If the fruit is tender, it’s done. If not, add ½ cup water, bring to a boil again, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes. Repeat once more if necessary.

3. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, then strain the liquid to remove the spices. Serve a portion of the fruit warm, cold, or at room temperature with a spoonful or two of its juice.

VARIATIONS

• Substitute almost any sweet or neutral liquid for the port: water, oloroso sherry, red wine (add a tablespoon of sugar), sweet white wine, orange juice, and so on.

• If you prefer less-than-sweet results, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end of cooking.

• Vary the spices. Try a tiny grating of nutmeg in place of the allspice, peppercorns, and star anise, for example. Some coriander seeds are also nice.

BAKED PEARS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 45 MINUTES

LOOK FOR LARGE PEARS, just about ripe; their