Turn American wild black cherries (Prunus serotina) into a delicious chilled summer soup, inspired by Hungarian meggyleves.
Put wild black cherries in a small soup pan, then mash them with a muddler or potato masher. Add water, maple syrup, cinnamon, clove, and salt to the pan. Start cooking over medium-high heat to slowly bring to a low boil. After 10 minutes, reduce heat and continue cooking at a low boil for another 25 minutes or however long needed to reduce total volume by half. (Start point: 4 cups, finished point: 2 cups.)
When done, strain to remove cherry pits but try to scrape as much cherry pulp as possible through strainer.
Once cherries have been cooking for about 10 minutes, sauté onions with a bit of butter until golden brown. Set aside. Also prep the following three ingredients while your cherries are still cooking: 1) whisk duck egg (or chicken egg), 2) juice 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3) chop 1/4 cup of fresh fennel leaves (not tough stems).
While the strained cherry soup base and sauteed onions are still very warm, put them into a blender or food processor with the fennel and blend until smooth. Next, slowly pour in the whisked egg while the blender/food processor is on. Finally, add all other ingredients (cream, yogurt, lemon juice) and blend until smooth.
Pour soup into large glass jar or container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. This wild cherry soup is best eaten within 24-48 hours but can store in your fridge for up to 5 days or so.
Chilled American wild black cherry soup (inspired by Hungarian meggyleves) https://www.tyrantfarms.com/american-wild-black-cherry-chilled-soup-meggyleves/