Compote is very refreshing in the summer. In fact, it's high summer as I write and I'm sitting here with a glass on the table by my computer. There's no exact recipe and it can be made with almost any fruit, fresh or dried. As general a rule of thumb, about 300-350g of dried fruit or about a kilo of fresh fruit should do the job with 5 litres of water. It's best to use a combination, for example a few fresh apples and plums, some dried apricots and a handful of raisins. Cherries, raspberries or red plums give a nice colour and a tart taste. If you don't have much fruit, The juice of a lemon can be added to give more flavour.
About 5l of water
Fresh and dried fruit
5 tablespoons of sugar
Wash the dried fruit and put it in a large pot with 5l of cold water. Bring to the boil and add the chopped fresh fruit and sugar. When the mixture boils a second time turn the heat down a little and partially cover the pot. Simmer for about 40 minutes then turn off the heat and cover the pot tightly. Leave until the mixture is cold then pour the liquid through a sieve into another container. That's your compote. Throw the fruit away.