I was just gifted some fresh foie gras. I happened to have a bag of cherries in the fridge and, since seared foie gras requires some sweetness and some astringency, this seemed like a match made in heaven. For those of you who do not have access to foie gras, these pickled cherries are excellent with pork chops, grilled mackerel, rillettes, pâté, terrine, and can be added as a condiment to a cheese plate as well, not to mention pureed with some of the pickling liquid and added to soda water as a refreshing mocktail in the shrub family of beverages. So, a versatile condiment and easy to make.
Any kind of cherry will work. I happened to have Rainier cherries on hand, which have a lot of yellow in them hence their color in the photo. We ate this in the garden as a lunch appetizer and it was glorious.
Makes about a 1 cup jar of this delightful condiment.
1 1/2 cups cherries, washed, de-stemmed, halved and pitted
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 bay leaves
3 peppercorns (I used Telicherry)
Salt to taste
Put all of the ingredients except the cherries in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has melted and the liquid has come to a rolling boil.
Lower the heat. Add the cherry halves to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat, set aside and allow to cool in the pickling liquid.
Refrigerate once it has cooled and use within 3 to 5 days as the cherries will start to get mushy.
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