Sunday, September 11, 2011

Cherries galore this summer!

You may have noticed, like me, that the cherries have been on sale an awful lot this summer. You'll hear no complaints from me as they're one of my favorite fruits that I don't usually splurge on because of their high price per pound. With all the recent sales I've been experimenting with new cherry recipes - and not just sweet ones!

I tried making a cherry relish - the original recipe I looked at didn't call for any cooking - just chopping and mixing, but I thought the flavors might come together more if they were slightly cooked. I made this Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry with Cherry Relish and Asparagus and the flavors worked pretty well together. I just tossed the shrimp and vegetables with a pretty basic mix of olive oil, salt and pepper - put on the grill and served with the cherry relish. A very healthy summer meal with lots of flavor!

You don't have to be too accurate with the ingredient amounts in a relish because you don't really have to worry about the consistency changing. I was surprised to see that a relish is defined as simply "a condiment, appetizer, something savory or appetizing added to a meal." In my cherry relish I had diced fresh cherries (of course!), diced red onion, fresh ginger, garlic, salt and pepper, and maybe a little olive oil and juice - like a citrus, lemon, lime or orange. The biggest part of the process is pitting the cherries, which is not fun and dyes your hands red.

Just goes to show that cherries can be used for cooking savory dishes, and not just sweet ones!

No comments:

Post a Comment