A Little Tartness, For a Change

Usually, when I get a new cooking magazine, there’s at least one recipe that catches my eye right away. And usually, I don’t stop thinking about it until I make it. This happened with a recent Ricardo magazine. It’s a special issue, all about gardening and even though I have no garden and no space to even thick about gardening, I got the mag anyway, for the recipes.

The recipe I couldn’t stop thinking about was the Ground Cherry and Vanilla Compote. I just love ground cherries and I was so intrigued at what pairing them with vanilla would do that I could almost taste it. So when I saw beautiful ground cherries at the supermarket, I jumped at the chance.

This is such an easy recipe, very simple and so satisfying. You get the sweet tartness of the ground cherries with the scent of the vanilla and the touch of lemon that comes through. And the golden amber color of the compote just makes it even more mouth watering. It is totally worth using one whole vanilla bean.

And since I had some brioche dough leftover from the last Tuesday with Dorie recipe, I baked it off into a loaf and spooned the compote over brioche slices. I couldn’t ask for a better dessert. Which by the way served as my birthday dessert. I mean, after the cutie patootee cupcakes I made for Olivia, the Pecan Honey Sticky Buns I made for Tuesdays with Dorie, and the next TWD recipe, which I haven’t even made yet, procrastinator that I am, I needed to make something a little lighter.

And this was perfect, just sweet and tart enough to change from the rich desserts we’d been having lately. But don’t worry, a rich, dark and sinful dessert is coming up soon, very soon.

Ground Cherry and Vanilla Compote
Adapted from Ricardo Magazine, Special Gardening Issue

* The recipe says to pour the compote into sterilized jars but I just kept mine in the refrigerator.

4 cups ground cherries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, mix together the ground cherries, the sugar and the lemon juice. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and with the tip of a knife, remove all of its seeds. Add the seeds and the bean to the pan. If you use vanilla extract, add it only after the compote has finished cooking. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for about 25 minutes or until the cooking juices are slightly syrupy. Remove the vanilla bean and pour the compote into sterilized jars. Serve with toast, cookies or vanilla cake.