Raspberry, blackberry & apple compote

I make this compote in abundance over the summer months when the fruit is local and at it’s best. It will freeze well so you can keep a ready supply of berries in the house, even when the snow is falling. What I love about this recipe is that not only can you make it all in one saucepan relatively quickly but if you don’t quite have the exact quantities it doesn’t matter that much. Plus you can swap in almost anything you like! However I would say if you give this a go please try to use good quality honey from local producers (or as local as you can get) it will make a huge difference to taste and to Britain’s bee population. Serve this hot over pancakes or cold in your yogurt.

Makes enough for 3 x 500g bags

Ingredients
5 bramley apples, peeled cored and quartered
300g blackberries
200g raspberries
200g honey (8 tbsp if you don’t want your scales to get sticky)
1tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla pod split lengthways.

Kitchen stuff

A big saucepan
Plastic spoon or utensil which wont stain

Method

Wash the blackberries gently by tipping them into a bowl and filling with water, give them a little wash and pour into a colander. Repeat with raspberries to avoid them breaking up.

Now pop the apples in the sink, give them a quick swill and then put them into a bowl. It makes them so much easier to move around the kitchen!

Peel, core and slice your apples into eighths, put them into the saucepan. (If you don’t have a corer cut each one in quarters and slice off the core on each segment)

Tip in the blackberries and raspberries, honey and vanilla.

Sprinkle over a few tablespoons of water, cover and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft and the mixture is starting to look mushy.

Pour into freezer bags made for soups so they can stand up (I use 3x 500g bags) and freeze until needed. One bag will supply you for about a week and last about the same time in the fridge.

You can freeze these for up to a year quite easily.