I have a gastronomic fascination with stewed, dried fruit — what my grandmother called kumput (which she made with mostly prunes and sometimes dried apricots).
I’ve written a sort of love letter to this iconic, Ashkenazi Jewish dish.
I’ve played with the recipe and made several different versions.
I like them all.
The recipe below has become my favorite. The sweet white wine makes a difference for sure, and also the larger pieces of crystallized ginger (some of my recipes include chopped crystallized ginger).
This isn’t at all like my grandma’s version and yet I think of her every time I made any version of this recipe. She was the inspiration, after all.
STEWED DRIED FRUIT with GINGER
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sweet white wine
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1 3” vanilla bean split open
1 2” piece cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods, optional
1/4 cup crystallized ginger pieces
8 whole dried figs
8 pitted Medjool dates
1 cup cut up dried apricots, peaches or nectarines
10-12 prunes
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries or cherries
Place the water, wine, juice, maple syrup, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, cloves and optional cardamom pods in a saucepan large enough to hold all the dried fruit. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the fruit and simmer another 20-25 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Let the fruit cool in the pan. Discard the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Let cool. Serve with the poaching liquid.
Makes 8 servings