Soup #27 / Sweet and Sour Cherry Soup

A sweet summery soup with a different twist. You expect it to be sweeter than it is, but it's still a tasty way to start off a summer picnic!

What you will need:

Two cans (15 oz each) of tart or sour cherries (the original recipe calls for fresh sour cherries, but I couldn't for the life of me find any fresh cherries that said "tart" or "sour"

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 shallots, minced

2 cups of a fruity red wine (I used pomegranate wine)

2 tsp of freshly grated lemon zest

2 tbsp corn starch

2/3 cups of sugar

About 4 cups of fresh sweet cherries - stemmed. pitted and quartered

1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

salt to taste

How to make it:

Drain the canned cherries and discard the syrup. Add the cherries into your food processor and puree until it is a smooth consistency. Over a large bowl, strain the cherry puree with a fine mesh strainer and use the back of a spoon to push out all the juice. Save the juice and discard all the cherry pulp.  

In a large sauce pan, add in the butter and melt over medium high heat. Add in your shallots and saute until they are soft. Stir in your lemon zest and continue to cook for another minute or so. Now add in the sour cherry juice, the wine, and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix well and bring the soup to a simmer. 

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a 1/4 cup of water and then stir it into the cherry mixture along with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir as it simmers, for about 5 minutes. Now add in the sweet cherries. Transfer the soup to a large bowl and allow to cool completely, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours. 

When the soup is cold, ladle into small bowl, drizzle the heavy cream into each bowl. Use a spoon to swirl the cream into the soup. ENJOY!

The Verdict:

This was a very different soup. Just a word of advise... don't taste it until you add in that 2/3 cup of sugar! I was totally convinced that I had ruined the soup and was wasting all these cherries. I ended up not following the directions entirely because I didn't want to hand-pit 3 lbs of cherries like the recipe called for, I mean, really. But in the end, I thought it was actually pretty good. E on the other hand... well, he said he might like it better if it was colder. ;)

What We'd do differently: 

I think it's safe to say that I would like to try this recipe again with FRESH sour cherries, and right measurements of each, just to compare and see what the difference would be taste-wise. The original recipe also called for a sprinkling of tarragon on top, which I think might add a nice flavor, and I think I might want to try it. 

XO