Cherry soup with spices

In cherry season, simply cook them with a few spices, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and serve alone or as an accompaniment. A delight.

The cherry season is very short. So clafoutis, cakes or simply grabbed from a tree, it’s time to treat yourself.
Today I suggest you cook them, with a little soup served for dessert of spiced cherries.

cherry soup with spices, the perfect dessert

This recipe is a bit a family tradition. We often find ourselves in Ardèche in June in a small cabin, without running water or electricity, but with incredible charm, lime trees and fruit trees, including magnificent cherry trees.
It’s a bit of a bohemian life in this cabin, with frugal meals by the fire. A small cast iron pot, cherries, a little water and whatever spices you have on hand and it works wonders. It is this feeling of simple pleasure that I offer you with this recipe.

Which cherries to choose

I don’t use sugar in this recipe, so I suggest you choose very fleshy and tasty cherriessuch as for example burlat or morello cherries.
If you only have available cherries that are a little more acidic or not very sweet like bigarreau or pigeon heart, add a few tablespoons of brown sugar.

You can possibly use frozen cherries. Thawed cherries will release more water so reduce the amount of water.

Little anti-waste tip: You can keep the cherry stems and dry them. In herbal tea, They have a diuretic action, promoting the elimination of toxins as well as waste present in the body.

You can leave the cherries whole or pit them. At any rate, rinse them well and hull them. If you choose to remove the pits as I advise you to do, the cherries will give more flavor to the cooking water by releasing juice. With the spices it will give wonderful flavors.

For the spices, I suggest a blend of spices with round and warm notes such as cinnamon and vanilla andslightly livelier spices such as star anise, star anise or cardamom.

Put the cherries and spices with water in a saucepan or a cast iron Dutch oven. Bring to a boil And from the first boil, lower the heat And cook over low heat for about fifteen minutes. This will cook the cherries of course but above all allow the spices to infuse gently.

Some variations

Adjust the spices depending on what you like or have available. For example, you could use powdered cinnamon rather than a stick, or add saffron.
Replace the spices with mint or verbena. A bit like I do in my peach and mint soup, for a fresh, not unpleasant touch.
Add organic orange zest.
Reduce the amount of water and cut it with a little red wine for a mulled wine spirit. I have never tried it and prefer this dessert without alcohol, but I would rather opt for a wine that is not too tannic like a Loire wine.

Serve warm or coldideally after letting it cool for a good hour while the spices continue to infuse gently.
Serve the cherry soup alone or in cups with vanilla ice cream, cottage cheese or thick crème fraîche good quality like raw cream purchased from your cheesemonger or Isigny cream. Also perfect with Fontainebleau. Do you know this traditional dessert?
You can also mix it after removing the cinnamon stick and star anise. Do not add all the juice at the beginning and add more gradually depending on the desired consistency. You will then obtain a well-flavored cherry compote..