cherries-with-leaves
Sally Schneider

Since it’s high cherry season, we thought we’d reprise last years recipe for Warm Fresh Cherries (with Leaves), in honor of the Fourth of July. Too lazy to pit and stem some fresh cherries, a friend and I tried quickly sauteeing them as-is with butter and sugar, to discover the the stems and leaves provided unexpected delights:

“You picked a cherry up by the stem with your fingers, dunked it in crème fraiche and popped it in your mouth, working the fragrant flesh off the pit and stem; we dropped the spent leaves, pits and stems into little bowls set around the table, as you would olives pits or mussel shells. We ate the sublimely messy, almost primal dessert like children, savoring the cherries one-by-one and licking our fingers.”

It is the perfect dessert for however-many-people you may have to serve: easy to make, with a summery hang-out-and-spit-cherry-(or watermelon)-pit thing going on. Here’s the recipe, with our wishes for a wonderful Fourth of July:

cherries-in-pot

Throughout cherry season, Warm Fresh Cherries and Leaves, born out of desperation and desire, is the dessert we make on purpose now because it’s even BETTER than the original, “kempt” version. (You can read the whole story of how this dish was improvised here.)

Recipe: Warm Fresh Cherries (with Leaves)

You can make this dish with either sweet or sour cherries, adjusting the sugar upward for sour ones, and cooking down their abundant juices as necessary.

Serves 4

About 1 ¼ pounds fresh sweet or sour cherries, washed and drained
About 3 tablespoons sugar or honey for sweet cherries; ¼ to 1/3 cup for sour ones
2 tablespoons water
1/2 vanilla bean, split  in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out with a paring knife
A few teaspoons fresh lemon juice, to taste (optional)
1 pint premium vanilla ice cream or  about 1 cup crème fraiche or whipped cream

In a medium saucepan, combine the cherries, sugar and water; add the bean seeds and pod.  Cover and cook over moderate heat until the cherries begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes.

Uncover and cook over high heat until the cherries are tender and some are split, about 2 minutes longer.  (Sour cherries will release a lot of juices. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the cherries into a medium bowl, leaving the juices in the pan.  Boil the juices until they are syrupy. Then, toss the cherries back into the syrup.)

Taste and add lemon juice if necessary to brighten the flavor. Let the cherries cool a few minutes.  Serve right from the pan or pour into a large serving bowl. Spoon some of the cherries into 4 shallow soup bowls. Spoon ice cream or crème fraiche along side. Place empty bowls around the table to catch the leaves, pits and stems (definitely don’t eat them – the can be toxic in quantity).

Note: If you prefer to serve the cherries pitted, there are several well-designed cherry pitters available that can pit a pound of cherries in just a few minutes, from simple hand-held pitters to more elaborate plunger-and-chute models. When caught without a cherry pitter, I’ve found it is easy to pit cherries the same way I pit olives: by smashing them lightly with a can or jar. The flesh breaks open so the cherry is no longer a neat shape, but it makes the pit is easy to take out.  Place the cherries in a metal baking dish with at least 2” sides when you are doing this, to prevent the juice from squirting on your clothes.  Alternatively, cover them with a paper towels to catch the spray.

Related posts: Warm Fresh Cherries (with Leaves)

How to Serve Fresh Cherries

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

2 replies on “4th of july reprise: warm fresh cherries (with leaves)

  1. Just ate an a wonderful restaurant in Charleston, SC where I had warm dark bing cherries poured over an almond semifreddo and sprinkled with basil….magic!!

  2. This looks so good — I’ve never thought to cook them whole but will try it soon before there are no cherries left!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *