Chilled American wild black cherry soup (inspired by Hungarian meggyleves)
Turn American wild black cherries (Prunus serotina) into a delicious chilled summer soup, inspired by Hungarian meggyleves.
Servings 4
Equipment
- small soup pan
- skillet
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup (heaping cup) wild black cherries or a little over 6 ounces
- 1/4 cup maple syrup Alternative: Add honey instead of maple syrup. If you use honey, don't cook it - instead only add it at the end in the blender so you don't degrade it's health-promoting properties.
- 1 tbsp unsalted grass-fed butter
- 1 cup organic whole greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup cup organic cream
- 1 egg (preferably duck egg, but chicken will do)
- 1/4 cup chopped fennel leaves, not stems
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of clove powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- 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.