MY LIFE IN CHERRIES

Cherry, chrysanthemum & devilled cashew salad

(Part 3 of 4 in my fruit in salads series)

A cherry on top means making something already good even better (or even perfect). It’s not random that you can see them on top of a Sundae or a cake, it’s the finish for a perfect picture. Cherries have it all, the look, the taste, the texture. The long historic symbolism of  love and romance gives them depth, which is accompanied by a more superficial and contemporary sex dripping image rarely matched in the fruit and berry section. On top of that their blossoms violently remind us every spring how fleeting life is with their quick emergence and fast death. Nature truly is metal but who doesn’t love a complex and versatile queen?

This powerful fruit and symbol has always intrigued me and to honour it, I’m looking back at my most memorable cherry moments.

• The life long fascination started with the rare Maraschino cherry in the canned cocktail fruit mix. I would fight my sister for them as they where shining angrily red in a sea of yellow and orange hues by the less popular fruits and completely ignoring the white grapes that had transformed to a weird cousin when it got drowned in syrup. Why are we so drawn to these neon baddies? The process of making Maraschino cherries is another reminder of how looks can be deceiving. The process of making them involves bleaching, brining, heavy sweetening and stripping them from all their nutrients. Their success is a testimonial that we are shallow creatures missguided by false beauty. But yet here I am like a magpie looking at a shiny spoon as I lust over a Maraschino cherry. 

  

• Glistening anime cherry pies with filling vulgarly oozing out of a crust with a quilted lid. Visual perfection burned into my retina forever. 

• Transitioning to the teenage years someone told me that if you can tie a knot out of a cherry stem using only your tongue you would be good at oral sex. My raging hormone teenage self took it pretty seriously thinking it would give me a badge of honour and somehow make me more desirable. Damn those years where WILD, never been happier than when leaving my teenage years behind me 😂

• Being confronted with cherry coke and wondering what the fuck was that and who enjoys drinking that? Trying to find the connection between artificial and natural flavours can be mind boggling. Who gets to decide what a flavour actually tastes like in a lab? Like who was the first person to create artificial cherry flavour? Maybe it was someone who just started a new job or a temp and they managed to leave this massive imprint on the world that would dominate forever. They did a weird job and somehow it stuck. 

• Moving to Germany and learning about KiBa, Kirsch-Banane or Cherry and banana juice in english. A very popular drink in Germany and I left after 9 years without trying it once that I can remember. Big mistake? I guess I will never know and I can live with that (to be fair my dismissiveness 100% depends on the banana juice which I imagine as the nasty kind of gloop)

• Getting a Persian best friend who’s culture have the buffest rice dishes and amongst them one including sour cherries, the one and only Albaloo polo. Dang! My discovery of sour cherries was equally intriguing as their sweet siblings, but giving granny vibes rather than Beyonce’s Blow vibes. Another proof of versatility! Sour cherry molasses, sour cherry juice, BE STILL MY HEART.

• Moving to London and sometimes as early as February the cherry trees would bloom, exploding in the most delicate and welcoming shade of pink, giving you a well needed reminder that spring has not forgotten about you. It has the natural effect of making you just stop and look, reminding you that we are connected to nature regardless if we want it or not. The same feeling as when you are being rocked in water or the sun warms your skin.

My obsession continues and I will enjoy making more memories with cherries, because the big life lesson I learned from them is that they make something good even better. Every creation needs a crown to be complete, and no one pulls it off like a cherry.

CHERRIES, CHRYSANTHEMUM & DEVILLED CASHEW SALAD

Cherries, ripe and juicy but still firm
Chrysanthemum
Handful of toasted nuts (using devilled cashews but walnuts are great as well in this salad)

Dressing:

15g garlic, minced
10g ginger, minced
2 spring onions, sliced fine
40g shallot oil
1g toasted and ground sichuan pepper
8g sugar
30g black vinegar
30g light soy sauce
5g sesame oil
1.5g salt

Garnish:

Chilli flakes (whatever spice level you like)

1. De seed and half the cherries. If you don’t have a cherry pitter (who has that realistically?) you can use a straw and just press through the cherry and the pit will come out.

2. Separate the leaves from the stem on the chrysanthemum. Cut the stalks in big pieces and then stir fry on high heat for a minute and set to the side. They should still be crunchy.

3. Mix together all the dressing ingredients. It will make quite a big batch so if you are just making a small amount of salad you can save the rest in the fridge for a couple of days. 

4. Mix the cherries, nuts and chrysanthemum leaves and stir fried stems with the dressing (add little by little to see how much you need).

5. Serve and enjoy!

   *Shallot oil is made by slowly frying lots of sliced shallots in a neutral cooking oil on low heat to infuse the oil with flavour. You will not only have delicious fried shallots but the oil is GOLD for dressings etc.