My house feels chilly when I wake up on winter mornings. The radiators huff and grumble and squeal, but they can’t quite keep up with the frigid temperatures outside.
This calls for a good cup of coffee and a hearty, comforting breakfast. I want something warm and soothing but healthy. Oatmeal answers to this description, and if I need to give it some more flavor, I mix up a fruit compote, like the one below, to stir in. This orange-spice compote blends sweet, tangy and spicy flavors into a rich and soothing wintery meal. The rosemary really perks it up!
Make this fruit compote with fresh-squeezed orange juice for extra nutrition and flavor, and if possible, start it the night before for an easy breakfast– it needs to chill for at least six hours.
PrintOrange-Spice Compote
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Traditional
Ingredients
- Spiced bouquet garni (leaves from 1 fresh rosemary branch (or 1 tsp dried rosemary); two 5-inch-long strips orange peel; 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns)
- 3 cups orange juice
- 2 cups dried apricots
- 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Place rosemary, orange peel, and peppercorns on large square of 3 layers of moistened cheesecloth.
- Gather cheesecloth and tie securely.
- Combine bouquet garni and all remaining ingredients in large saucepan.
- Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until fruit is tender and liquid is thick and syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.
- Transfer compote with bouquet garni to bowl; chill until cold, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days. Using tongs, remove bouquet garni; serve.
Compote is technically a dessert, and really, who doesn’t like dessert for breakfast? Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, or crepes with hazelnut spread and bananas should technically be desserts, too, but once in a while, we love to enjoy them early in the day. Fruit compote is delicious, and because it is packed with nutritious fruit and mixed into oatmeal, it’s actually quite healthy.
If you do feel like compote should be reserved for an after-dinner dessert or an afternoon snack, you can serve this compote with ice cream, pound cake or biscuits, or by itself with just a dollop of whipped cream.
This compote would also be tasty atop another one of my favorite breakfast treats: oatmeal whole wheat pancakes. I recently discovered this incredibly simple oatmeal pancake recipe. No buttermilk, no soaking the oatmeal overnight, like many other oatmeal pancake recipes require. Just ingredients you’re likely to have around the house already. (I would recommend soaking the oats for a little bit longer than the suggested 2-5 minutes, though, to soften them up a little more.)
Looking for more snowy-day breakfast recipes? Try our recipe for Easy No Cook Oatmeal or Flourless Pumpkin Apple Oat Bread!
As snow covers Pennsylvania this Valentine’s weekend and our heaters struggle to outmatch the cold, breakfast is a perfect way to beat the cold and boost your spirits. So treat your valentine, and yourself, to comforting winter breakfasts this weekend.