Sometimes, you really do make the best discoveries when you are forced to use ingredients you didn’t choose yourself! Over the Christmas holidays I was looking after my parents’ house and predictably, found myself with a lot of ingredients to use up quickly (my Mum and Dad aren’t big on meal planning) leading to some quick-thinking cooking!
One of gluts (apart from potatoes – more on that another time!) was three large punnets of black grapes. Now I like grapes but I wasn’t going to eat my way through that many before they went off, so I needed to get creative. Luckily, it’s just the kind of weather where hot porridge with a fruity topping goes down a treat – so combined with plums and a few other store cupboard ingredients, I came up with this super simple compote to share with you all!
You’ll love the taste of it on porridge but it’s also great with yogurt and granola or even spread over toast as a low sugar jam substitute. I’m even half-tempted to try it in a toastie with my dairy-free cheese spread! Feel free to unleash your imagination and please share any ideas in the comments or social media.
Serves 8 (at least)
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups/450g black seedless grapes
- 10 small/450g plums, destoned
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice (or substitute orange juice if you prefer it less tart)
- 1 vanilla pod (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
METHOD
- Place all the ingredients except the chia seeds in a large saucepan and heat gently, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mash the mixture before stirring in the chia seeds and continue to simmer, uncovered this time for a further 15 minutes.
- Serve on top of hot porridge (coconut milk porridge is amazing with this!) or allow to cool before storing.
- Will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed tupperware in the fridge or longer in the freezer.