Cherries macerated with sweet anios with marcons almonds, mint and ricotta

I have such mixed feelings about summer. On the one hand, it’s glorious. It is the day of days at the beach, picnics in the park, barbecues, long sections of daylight and some of the best products of the year. In many places, however, including my hometown of New York, it is also oppressed and humid – just last night, I dandated in wet clothes uncomfortably after a stifling salsa dance class. So, if there is one thing that I like at this time of year, it is a recipe that involves zero heat and almost no effort. This is why we bring you the simplest summer of all time, a collection of seasonal recipes which are all beautifully simple. We are not talking about more than four main ingredients (not to mention the pantry staples, such as oil and salt).

I wanted to jump with cherries before their too short season ends. The idea: a soft and tasty preparation that is suitable just as well at the dessert as breakfast or a midday snack. I started by opposing a pint of juicy cherries – by the most high intensity of labor in the entire process. I took an automatic knife and I slipped it through the flesh of the fruit, surrounding the pit. Then I twisted the two hemispheres and torn off the pit. If you have a cherry pitter, you can use it then slice each cherry in half with a knife afterwards.

I threw the countable cherries and cut in half with a mixture of honey, red wine vinegar and a very generous shower of freshly ground black pepper. The resulting mixture of flavors is the combination of sweet origin that Italians call agrodolgy.

I also like black pepper in the mixture because, as spices, it reflects the soft and tasty duality of the sauce – it has more sweet spices, such as cinnamon or condemnation, as well as a hot funk which makes it work in any salty application (therefore its presence in a large part of the foods that we cook and eat).

By sticking with this Italian inspiration, I decided to serve this with a good fresh ricotta cheese. But beware: the ricotta of the mass market will not work here. You really want to look for high quality things – Calabro is our brand available on the favorite supermarket, or head to a specialized market or dairy products.

For a final touch, I added mint for freshness and a crushed Marcona almond garnish. These have a more oily texture than other almonds, which makes them more tender, almost like Macadamia nuts. (In fact, if you don’t have Marconas, the macadamias would be a good substitute here.)

If you have laminated finishing salt, like Maldon, it’s the perfect time to break it and sprinkle it on top.

AndIf you have a very good bread, it would also make an excellent garnish for toast. But, of course, the “very good bread” would count like a fifth Ingredient, so let’s call it an unofficial suggestion to make your summer easier ever better.

July 2015

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