Compost

Such an ugly name for such a delightful dish. Over the course of KWDS I made 2 different types of compost and despite the name of the dish it seemed to go over very well.

The first which I have spoken about before here in my blog is a recipe from Liber de Coquina. The first time I made this recipe it was met with some very mixed reviews. It seemed that people either loved it or hated it, at KWDS people loved it!

1 kg Pears (make sure they are hard pears and not soft, soft pears do NOT work at all)
4 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp anise seeds
20 gm sultanas or raisins or currants
3/4 cup white wine vinegar

Peel, seed and cube the pears into bite sized pieces
Place pears in a pot just covered with water , as soon as the pot comes to a boil remove the pears from the heat
Drain the pears
Lightly crush the coriander and anise together
While the pears are still warm mix the spices with the pears, add the raisins and vinegar
When cool place in the refrigerator for 12 hrs to a few days for the flavors to mingle
Serve cold

The second compost recipe is one I found in a couple of places but ultimately comes from The Boke or Kervynge.

250 gm Carrots
250 gm Parsnips
300 gm Turnips
400 gm White cabbage
485 gm Hard pears
250 ml Muscatel (sweet white wine)
1 c white wine vinegar
1/4 c honey
1 tsp sweet powder
1/2 tsp Anise seed
1/2 tsp Fennel seed
2 tsp Mustard seed
1/4 tsp Cinnamon (ground)
1/4 tsp Cardamom (ground)
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Prepare the vegetables and pears by peeling and chopping them into bite sized pieces (Not the cabbage yet)
Place in a large pot and boil until they are softened (about 5 min or so)
Core and chop the cabbage
Remove the pot from the heat and place the cabbage on top
Let it sit for 5 min
Drain
Lightly salt the vegetables and cool
Meanwhile crush the mix with honey, wine and other spices, heat to incorporate honey
When vegetables are cool place them in a non reactive (not metal) container
Pour the spiced honey/wine mixture and the vinegar over the vegetable and stir
Store in a cool place for 12+ hours.

This is one that gets better the longer it sits, just stir it every few hours.

*The sweet powder recipe I used is based off of a Poudre Douce recipe in Liber de Coquina with the ratios of:
1/4 tsp Clove (ground)
1 tsp Bay leaf (ground)
1 tsp Cinnamon (ground)
1 tsp Ginger (ground)

I used normal bay but the recipe calls for Indian Bay leaf.