Pacific Northwest Cherries will be on early this year - let's celebrate!

Cherry Vinaigrette

Fernando Divina, divinAmerica

Makes about 2/3 cup, enough for about 4 - 6 salads

This is a terrific way to utilize less than perfect cherries. Combine fresh aggressive greens like dandelion, lamb’s quarter, or water cress with sweet lettuces like butter and bibb varieties to balance the salad. The addition of sun-dried cherries or other dried fruits and toasted hazelnuts adds texture and an opportunity to improvise. Try substituting plums, peaches or even berries for the cherries as variations. Serve this with chilled, sparkling Blanc de Blanc or Gewürztraminer.

½ cup (70-80g) pitted, sweet cherries

¼ cup (55g) hazelnut or walnut oil

Juice of ¼ lemon (7g)

2 tablespoons (30g) sherry or champagne vinegar

Pinch of sea or course salt

Freshly ground pepper

Place the cherries in a food processor or blender. Pulse the cherries adding a little oil at a time until the cherries are liquefied. Add the lemon juice and vinegar to the processor and pulse 2-3 times. Add salt and pepper and toss with greens or serve on the side. This vinaigrette is best when served immediately and at room temperature.

We interpret this great recipe for calfouti every season and marvel at the remarkably simple recipe!

Cherry Calfouti

Nora Carey – Perfect Preserves 1990 Stewart, Tabori, and Chang

This classic Limousine regional dish is a standard with cherries but is fantastic with all stone fruits and some berries.

8 ounces granulated sugar

¾ cup ap flour

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

2 cups milk

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups pitted cherries

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Pre-heat the oven to 375˚

Place the sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl and stir with a fork to combine the ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, yolk, milk and butter and beat well. Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients thoroughly. Coat a false bottom fluted tart pan lightly with unsalted butter. Evenly distribute the pitted cherries over the bottom of the tart pan. Pour the batter over the fruit. Place the calfouti in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 25 – 20 minutes or until puffed, golden brown and a knife tip, when inserted, emerges clean. This batter soufflés and then collapses to the original volume when cooled. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with confectioner’s sugar.

Sweet Cherry and Hazelnut Conserve

Fernando and Marlene Divina, divinAmerica

Fresh cherries are among the first summer fruits to grace our tables. We revel in the beauty of March blossoms and patiently await early signs that summer ripe fruits are 'on' and about to appear at roadside kiosks and fresh market stalls throughout the west. Oregonians have, since the late nineteenth century, embraced the dark sweet Bing cherry with origins in Milwaukie, Oregon, where orchardist Ah Sit Bing, nurtured the hybridization of this elegant, durable, free-stone variety from Black Republican

and Napoleon Royal Ann cherries. The Lewelling-owned nursery where Bing practiced once dominated the landscape on what has become Milwaukie's Main Street.

Conserves are a combination of two or more fruits and, often, with the addition of nuts. Ours is composed of fresh and dried sweet cherries which adds textural complexity and depth where the flavor of the cherries is most desirous. The addition of whole citrus—skin, flesh, and juice-- provides pectin to produce a jam-like consistency for this otherwise low-pectin fruit.

Total time: about 50 minutes active (plus 8 hours maceration and optional canning time)

Equipment

• Small plate (for jell test)

• 2-quart mixing bowl

• Heatproof spatula

• Heavy, non-reactive saucepan (3-quart or larger)

• Candy/deep-fry thermometer (optional but recommended)

• Ladle

• Clean jars with lids (for storage)

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted

• ¼ small navel orange (stem and seeds removed), skin and flesh minced or pulsed in a food processor

• ¼ lemon (stem and seeds removed), skin and flesh minced or pulsed in a food processor

• ½ cup dried sweet cherries

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ cup peeled, toasted, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

• Optional flavorings: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom, or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Place a small plate in the freezer to chill for the jell test.

2. In a 2-quart bowl, combine the fresh cherries, minced orange, minced lemon, dried cherries, and

sugar. Stir well to coat the fruit evenly, cover tightly, and let stand at room temperature for at

least 8 hours or overnight to macerate and release juices.

3. Transfer the macerated fruit and all accumulated juices to a heavy, non-reactive saucepan. Bring

to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly and skimming off any foam that rises to the

surface.

4. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently and

tilting the pan occasionally to check for sticking until the conserve reaches 220°F on a

thermometer or passes the jell test: Drop a small amount on the chilled plate, chill 1 minute,

then push with your finger—if it wrinkles and holds its shape, it’s ready.

5. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and any optional flavorings until evenly distributed. Remove from

the heat.

6. Ladle the hot conserve into clean jars, following standard water-bath canning procedures if

storing at room temperature (process pints for 10 minutes). Alternatively, cool completely, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

This recipe scales easily (maintain ratios); taste and adjust optional spices incrementally as quantities

increase