Welcome back to our series Market Fresh, in which we take a look at one ingredient that's showing up in the city's Greenmarkets right now and tell you what to do with it. Last week, we looked at beets, and today we're cooking with cherries.
Cherries come in many forms—deep red Bings, blush-colored Rainiers, and even sour ones, all of which can be eaten both cooked or raw. They're the smallest stone fruit (meaning it has a single seed, or pit), and are high in anti-oxidants and vitamin C. Locally-grown cherries have a short season, for about a month in the peak of summer, which is just about now (give or take a week or two). We talked to Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez, the pastry chef at Hell's Kitchen restaurant PRINT, whose menu changes with lightning speed to reflect what's in season, to find out what she does with the fruit.
"Cherries remind me of the traditional Italian baking I grew up with," said Carlucci-Rodriguez. "New York grows great cherries. They're a wonderful sign that summer is here." She recommends serving these syrupy, boozy cherries over vanilla ice cream or fresh mascarpone cheese, though it would also do well sitting atop a pound cake...or just a spoon.
PRINT's Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez's Cherries in Vanilla & Port
3 cups of pitted bing cherries
1/2 cup ruby port
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 vanilla bean, cut down the middle and scraped
Combine the port, OJ, sugar & vanilla bean into a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
In a very dry bowl, put corn starch & whisk in a little bit of the hot liquid.
Add the corn starch liquid back into the pot with the rest of the hot liquid & then add the cherries. Make sure they are well coated.
Bring to a boil. As soon as it gets to a boil, take it off the heat.
Spoon over ice cream or mascarpone while still warm.
