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Travel, and book signings, and workshops… oh my!
The past two weeks have been exciting and busy… in good ways. Between a little work travel, big events and deadlines at work, a barista workshop, a presentation by a world-renowned chef and a food scientist, and keeping up with life at home with our family… two weeks have flown by!
But we didn’t let our apples go to waste. All those apples we picked earlier this month have been consumed in many beautiful ways. Today’s recipe is just one of those ways. Today we present our Apple Pie Compote. mmm
We’re strong believers in learning from a variety of sources such as, YouTube, books, and presentations; but for us there’s nothing better than hands-on learning. Nelson’s watched numerous videos and read articles about perfect coffee and latte art. He’s practiced a lot (consuming lots of coffee along the way); and he’s definitely improved, but sometimes he’s lost his motivation when his attempts weren’t quite successful.
It wasn’t until the hands-on workshop that it really clicked for him. There he learned with someone guiding him. Since then, he’s been serving me lattes with adorable hearts, and his confidence that he can do this is back.
Next Nelson got to meet Chef René Redzepi, Chef and Owner of Noma and the head of fermentation at Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, David Zilber (a Torontonian). Noma has won best restaurant in the world 4 times (3 in a row). He went to Toronto to see a presentation and demonstration about fermentation. At the end of the presentation he got to take a picture with them and received his signed copy of their book titled The Noma Guide to Fermentation.
I’d never think to read about fermentation as a way to relax before sleep, but Nelson’s been reading the book every evening… and learning lots (and admittedly sometimes getting lost in all the science).
Cheers to lifelong learning and being inspired by those who share their knowledge!
However, this fermentation thing is not as easy as making Apple Pie Compote… so let’s get back to our recipe at hand.
Now what about this Apple Pie Compote I tempted you with?!
Yes, back to our recipe and another opportunity to learn and enjoy one of fall’s precious gifts.
We’ve eaten some of our apples fresh, as is. Nelson’s also put them into salads, cooked them with pork, baked apple pie, and apple pie pockets, and finally, with the last of the batch, he made this delicious compote to top our waffle breakfast.
It was just like having apple pie, sans crust. Tart and sweet and cinnamon-y. So simple. So delicious.
Our normal go-to topping is pure maple syrup, but this was such a nice change. It only took 10 minutes to prep and Nelson made the waffles while the apples cooked. It was like eating freshly made apple pie for breakfast, without the long prep and bake time, or the guilt of eating dessert for breakfast.
Oh beautiful apple… you’re the apple of my eye among fruits (wait… can you say that about an apple?).
Don’t let all those apples you picked go to waste. Go on and make pie, or jam, or salad, or gosh… the options go on and on. Eat apples. Eat well, friends.
Easily transform farm fresh (or store bought) delicious apples into a perfect topping for waffles, pancakes and more! You’ll love our apple pie compote.
Course:
Breakfast, Dessert, Sauce
Cuisine:
American, Canadian, North American
Keyword:
Compote
Servings: 4cups
Ingredients
1 1/2lbshoneycrisp apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin
2tbspcorn starch
1/2cuporange juice
3/4cupssugar
2tbspmaple syrup
2tspfreshly squeezed lemon juice
1tspground cinnamon
1/4tspground nutmeg
Instructions
Add the orange juice and cornstarch to a medium pot.
Whisk the cornstarch until it dissolves in the orange juice.
Add the sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and turn on the heat to medium high.
Stir until the sugar dissolves. This will take 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the apples and stir to combine all ingredients.
Once the liquid starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the apples have softened. Stir occasionally.
Let the compote cool down. The compote will thicken a bit.
Serve warm or cold on pancakes, waffles, ice cream or any other dish that goes well with sweet yummy apple pie filling.
Recipe Notes
We’ve also made this recipe with cortland apples. Feel free to substitute with any apple that you’d use for apple pie.
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Mistake = Delicious?
Sometimes a mistake can result in a delicious surprise. That’s what happened to us the first time Nelson made this tasty sauce. Let me explain.
A few years back we spent a winter weekend at a cottage with friends, to do some cross-country skiing and skating.
We brought everything we’d need to make all our meals. Well, almost everything. We discovered that we’d forgotten a necessity–our Canadian pure maple syrup (it’s the only way we roll).
For me, not being well-versed in the kitchen, I assumed that meant our pancake breakfast was a flop. Thank goodness Nelson’s got good sense in the kitchen and can figure things out.
Here’s something I admire in Nelson…
…he can look at a variety of food in the fridge and figure out a full meal just like that. I, on the other hand, look in the fridge, and, unless there’s a left-over meal that I can heat up, I see nothing. Sad…I know. I’m not proud. 🙁
So back at the cottage and our maple syrup emergency… you know where this is going. Nelson took a carton of blueberries, some sugar, and badda-bing-badda-boom, a pancake sauce was created. It seems so obvious in hind-sight, but I really wouldn’t have thought of that. Nelson’s my culinary Macgyver.
We’ll always love maple syrup!
We still love pure maple syrup on our pancakes, but sometimes a little variety is a good thing. This berry sauce was freaken awesome.
We decided that this cannot be reserved solely for the obvious–pancakes and waffles. Oh ya! This sauce is going on ice-cream, cheesecake, french toast, and… we’ll take suggestions.
Try something different. You might be pleasantly surprised. And always eat well, friends!
Mixed Berry Compote for Pancakes, Ice Cream and More!
This mixed berry compote is light, sweet and fruity. It's the perfect topping for pancakes, waffles, ice cream or any other food that requires a delicious topping.
Author: Nelson Cardoso
Recipe type: Sauce and Dressings
Cuisine: North American
Serves: 1½ cups
Ingredients
¼ cup water
1 tbs cornstarch
½ cup sugar
2 cups quartered strawberries, no stem
¾ cups raspberries
½ cup blueberries
Instructions
Add the water and cornstarch to a medium pot.
Whisk the cornstarch until it dissolves in the water.
Add the sugar and turn on the heat to medium high.
After one minute, add all the fruit and stir to combine all ingredients.
Once the mix starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover.
Let simmer for 10 minutes, stir every 3 or so minutes.
Uncover and shut off the heat.
Let cool down. The compote will thicken a bit.
Serve warm or cold on pancakes, waffles, ice cream or any other dish that will go with sweet yummy fruits and syrup.
