Mixed Stewed Fruit

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Three 1 to 1½-quart saucepans, or one saucepan rinsed between fruits
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Blender or food processor
• •12-inch (30 cm) shallow compotier or serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the fruits

   Keep the three poaching fruits in separate bowls from the beginning. Toss the pear quarters with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice so they don't discolor, then set the plums and apricots beside them. Pick through the raspberries without crushing them and keep them cold. Separation begins here, before heat enters the matter.

2. 2

   Make the base syrup

   Combine the water, sugar, lemon peel, vanilla bean, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a wide saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove the peel and vanilla. Reserve ¼ cup of the untouched syrup for the raspberry purée, then divide the remainder among three small saucepans. Once a fruit enters its syrup, the syrups never meet again.

   You may use one saucepan in succession if cupboard space is tight. Transfer each finished fruit and syrup to its own bowl, wash the pan thoroughly, and begin the next.
3. 3

   Poach the pears

   Bring the first syrup to the barest tremble and add the pears. Cover them with a round of parchment if they float, then poach for 12 to 18 minutes, turning once, until translucent at the edges and easily pierced with a knife but still holding their corners. Lift them carefully into their own shallow bowl. Pears vary shamelessly, so remove each quarter when it is ready rather than waiting for the slowest one.

4. 4

   Poach the plums

   Bring the second syrup just below a boil and lower in the plum halves. Poach for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on ripeness, until the flesh yields slightly but the skins remain attached. Lift them out immediately. If a plum collapses, don't discard it. Ça se rattrape: press that half through a sieve and keep the resulting plum purée separate as an additional pool on the platter.

5. 5

   Poach the apricots

   Lower the apricot halves into the third syrup and poach at a faint tremble for 2 to 4 minutes. They are ready when supple enough to take syrup but still firm enough to lift intact. Transfer them to their own bowl, reserving 6 neat halves separately for the apricot purée once cool.

6. 6

   Reduce each syrup

   Simmer the three poaching syrups separately until each lightly coats a cold spoon, about 5 to 8 minutes. They should remain fluid, not sticky. If one catches at the edge or tightens toward caramel, take it off the heat and stir in boiling water a tablespoon at a time until it runs freely again. Ça se rattrape. Cool completely before pouring each syrup back over its own fruit, or the fruit will continue cooking into softness.

7. 7

   Make two purées

   Blend the raspberries with the reserved plain syrup and the remaining lemon juice, then press the purée through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Clean the blender and purée the reserved apricot halves with just enough of their own syrup to make a thick, spoonable cream. Keep the raspberry and apricot purées in separate covered containers. Their distinct color and acidity are part of the composition.

8. 8

   Chill the components

   Cover the pears, plums, apricots, and both purées separately and chill for at least 3 hours. Keep the diced jelly, candied orange peel, and candied cherries cold in their own containers. This rest lets the poached fruits drink in their syrups without surrendering their shapes.

9. 9

   Compose the compote

   Spoon the raspberry and apricot purées into separate generous pools on a chilled shallow compotier. Drain the poached fruits, saving every syrup, and arrange pears, plums, and apricots in distinct groups over and beside the purées. Border the platter with the quince or apple jelly dice, then place the candied orange peel and cherries in small clusters alongside the fresh fruit. Spoon a little pear syrup over the pears, plum syrup over the plums, and apricot syrup over the apricots. Never toss the platter. The composition should read fruit by fruit, not as one sweet blur.

10. 10

    Settle and serve

    Return the composed compote to the cold for 20 to 30 minutes so the purées settle and the jelly firms around the border. Serve with a broad spoon, reaching through purée, poached fruit, jelly, and a little candied fruit in each helping. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose fruit that is ripe enough to be fragrant but firm enough to survive a spoon. A plum already soft at the stem belongs in the purée, not the poaching pan.
• •Firm jelly cuts best after a thorough chilling. If a jarred jelly refuses clean dice, don't maul it. Set cold teaspoonfuls around the platter's rim instead; the border remains true to the dish.
• •When apricots are poor, good canned halves packed in juice are the honest answer from the classical pantry. Drain them well and leave them unpoached, keeping their packing juice away from the other syrups.
• •Serve this after a rich dinner with small glasses of lightly sweet Vouvray or chilled water. The fruit already has all the ornament it needs.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the fruits and make both purées up to one day ahead. Chill every fruit in its own syrup and store each purée separately so their colors and flavors remain clear.
• •The platter may be composed up to 2 hours before serving. Add the jelly border and candied fruits at the final assembly so they retain their shapes and bright finish.
• •Leftover fruit keeps for 2 days in the cold when returned to its matching syrup. Store the purées separately and rebuild each serving rather than mixing everything together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)