Name: Silvia Maulini*
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

* Silvia is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

In August 2019 a small group of MHC alumnae in the Netherlands attended a Slow Food event I had helped to organize in a historic orchard located close to Amsterdam. We picked apples and plums and together with friends and family members we processed them producing several delicious dishes. Our team was responsible for the apple compote and we surely had a great time!

Apple Compote with an Italian Twist

Serves ca. 6 portions. Takes approx. 10 minutes +50 Minutes cooking minutes.

Ingredients:
500 gr organic apples (possibly from a friendly orchard in your neighborhood)
75 gr cane sugar
50 g raisins
30 g pine nuts
½ organic lemon (untreated)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
50 ml Marsala wine

Instructions:

Put the raisins in a small bowl, cover them with some of the Marsala and let them soak for ca. 30 minutes.

Wash the apples, core them all and peel half of them. Cut the peeled and un-peeled apples in small parts and put them in a large pan together with the sugar, the cinnamon and the half lemon cut in small wedges. Mix everything well and cook on a low flame for ca. 40 minutes, stirring from time to time to avoid scorching.

When the apples are cooked, process 2/3 of them in a blender (or process them all if you wish to have a very smooth compote) and return them to the pan. Add the raisins with their soaking liquid, the rest of the Marsala and the pine nuts and cook the compote on a low flame for further 5 minutes.

The apple compote is now ready: it is delicious lukewarm with a scoop of (homemade) vanilla ice-cream and an additional sprinkling of cinnamon.

You can keep the compote for a few days in the fridge in a closed jar or freeze it in (small) portions for future use.

Source: Family recipe with a twist