Four Nights A Week

I don’t know why, but this June I was craving a cherry compote to serve alongside ice cream or yogurt or cake. As luck would have it, two of my favorite chefs – David Lebovitz and Jacques Pepin, posted their versions in newsletters and videos this past week. It’s as if they were reading my mind!

Chef Pepin’s version is simple, but called for cherry preserves, which I did not have on hand. David Lebovitz’s most recent iteration uses Pastis – which was definitely intriguing – but which we did not have in our liquor stash. So I went for this alternative recipe from David Lebovitz which is simple and did not add to my current collection of liqueurs.

What was not simple was that sometime when we downsized, I unfortunately got rid of my cherry pitter. Try as I might I could not master Jacque’s knife technique for pitting nor could I make the paperclip method work without totally opening up each fruit.

What I learned from reading and watching is that cooking compote is a fairly standard process. Also true: subtle variations in flavors can be achieved by subbing liqueurs.Do I see variations in my future? Yes I do!

David Lebovitz’s Cherry Compote

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh cherries (some recipes substitute pre-pitted frozen black cherries)
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• Optional: 1 cup dried sour cherries (40 g) – I did not use these
• 2 tsp kirsch
• 1-2 drops pure almond extract

Method

David Lebovitz suggest you use a non-reactive pan that is much bigger than you anticipate. By doing so you’ll avoid boil-overs which, as you can imagine, are an unfortunate turn of events.

1. Stem and pit cherries. Put them in a large, non-reactive pot or sauce pan, and stir in the sugar.
2. Turn heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, lifting the lid and stirring them frequently to encourage juice extraction and to make sure the liquid does not foam up or overflow the pot.
3. After 10 minutes of cooking, add the dry cherries if you wish. Cook for 5-10 minutes more or until the cherries are “wilted” and completely cooked through.
4. Remove from heat, stir in the kirsch (or whatever liqueur you’ve chosen) and almond extract. Cool before storing or service (which allows the juices to thicken).

Note: Refrigerate up to 5 days OR freeze (up to 1 year)