Candy-Bitter Macerated Cherries With Marcona Almonds, Mint, and Ricotta Recipe

I’ve such blended emotions about summer time. On the one hand, it is superb. That is the season of days on the seashore, picnics within the park, cookouts, lengthy stretches of daylight, and a few of the finest produce of the yr. In numerous locations, although, together with my hometown of New York Metropolis, it is also oppressively scorching and humid—simply final night time, I waddled house in uncomfortably soaking wet garments after a sweltering salsa dance class. So if there’s one factor I like about this time of yr, it is a recipe that entails zero warmth and subsequent to no effort. That is why we’re bringing you the Best Summer season Ever, a set of seasonal recipes which might be all superbly easy. We’re speaking not more than 4 essential elements (not together with pantry staples, like oil and salt).

I needed to leap proper in with cherries earlier than their all-too-short season involves an finish. The thought: a sweet-savory preparation that is simply as properly suited to dessert as it’s breakfast or a noon snack. I began by pitting a pint of juicy cherries—by far probably the most labor-intensive a part of the entire course of. I took a paring knife and slid it by the flesh of the fruit, circling the pit. Then I twisted the 2 hemispheres aside and plucked the pit out. You probably have a cherry pitter, you should use that after which slice every cherry in half with a knife afterward.

I tossed the pitted, halved cherries with a mix of honey, purple wine vinegar, and a really beneficiant bathe of freshly floor black pepper. The ensuing taste combination is the sweet-sour mixture that Italians name agrodolce.

I just like the black pepper within the combine as properly as a result of, as a spice, it mirrors the sweet-savory duality of the sauce—it has some qualities of sweeter spices, like cinnamon or allspice, together with a scorching funk that makes it work in nearly any savory software (thus its presence in a lot of the meals we prepare dinner and eat).

Sticking with that Italian inspiration, I made a decision to serve this with good, contemporary ricotta cheese. However beware: Mass-market ricotta won’t work right here. You positively need to search out the high-quality stuff—Calabro is our favourite supermarket-available model, or head to a specialty market or dairy.

For a of entirety, I added some mint for freshness and a topping of crushed Marcona almonds. These have an oilier texture than different almonds, making them extra tender, nearly like macadamia nuts. (The truth is, if you do not have Marconas, macadamias can be a superb substitute right here.)

You probably have some flaky ending salt, like Maldon, it is a nice time to interrupt it out and sprinkle it on high.

And, when you’ve got some actually good bread, this could additionally make a superb topping for toasts. However, in fact, “actually good bread” would depend as a fifth ingredient, so let’s simply name that an unofficial suggestion to make your Best Summer season Ever even higher.

July 2015

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