Table Talk » Cherry Heaven

Yesterday I picked 12 pounds of cherries at my favorite farm: 8 pounds of sweet cherries and 4 pounds of sour cherries. For me, the day that I pick cherries is the official start of summer. I usually pick only sweet cherries, but after hearing Jeremy Jackson talk about his Little Meatballs with Cherry Sauce, I've been waiting for sour cherries to be ready to pick.

When I got the announcement that the theme for the June meeting of the Massachusetts chapter of Personal Chefs Network was picnics, I selected this recipe to make for our meeting.

Last night I pitted a pound of cherries for the recipe (not a whole lot of fun) so I could make the recipe in the morning. I made the meatballs this morning with some minor modifications to the recipe.

The lamb meatballs filled the house with a wonderful aroma. My husband Tom came looking for lunch when I took the meatballs out of the oven. He had his before I added them to the cherry sauce.

This isn't a great picture because I was in a hurry when I plated them and took the picture. There were 10 hungry personal chefs waiting to dig into them.

The bright and sharp flavor of the sour cherries is a perfect match for the lamb meatballs.

Tomorrow I'll pit the rest of the sour cherries and freeze them. Then I'll be looking for more savory recipes that use sour cherries. My reward for pitting them will be a big bowl of sweet cherries.

Lamb Meatballs with Sour Cherry Sauce

adapted by Patti Anastasia from Jeremy Jackson's recipe for Little Meatballs with Cherries published in A Good Day for a Picnic: Simple Food That Travels Well.

2 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound pitted sour cherries
1/4 cup sugar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pita bread

Mix the lamb, bread crumbs, onion, spices, salt, and pepper with your hands until smooth. Form the meat into marble-size balls, or larger. Place meatballs on a rack and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until done.

In a large pan, heat the cherries over medium-high heat, adding sugar or lemon juice to taste. When the cherries are softened, remove from heat. Using a stick blender, puree the cherry mixture. Add the meatballs and stir to coat.

Serve with pita bread. For a picnic, serve the meatballs at room temperature or cold. For dining
at home, or a backyard picnic, the meatballs are also good warm (with warm pitas, too).

Posted June 30, 2007 8:10 PM in Kitchen Garden/Farmstand, Recipes, Test Kitchen

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5 Comment(s)

Marcy said… (on June 30, 2007 at 22:04 PM #)

These are SO delicious! We just had some for dinner and the DH was licking his fingers. Thanks for sharing!

Patti said… (on July 1, 2007 at 15:42 PM #)

Last night, on a Cooking Light bulletin board, I read about using a chopstick to pit cherries. It's so simple, you push the pits out by inserting the chopstick through the stem end. Today I pitted the rest of the sour cherries and half of the sweet cherries and it was easier, faster, and less messy than using my cherry pitter.

Lisa said… (on July 3, 2007 at 11:55 AM #)

My mouth is *watering* as I read this! Cannot wait to try it! And I had no idea I could go cherry picking in NH!!! You recommend the chopstick method for pitting?

Lisa said… (on July 3, 2007 at 11:56 AM #)

Patti, did my other comment make it? If not, my mouth was watering as I read about your recipe! Cannot wait to try it. And to think that cherry picking is available in NH! I had no idea!!!

Patti said… (on July 3, 2007 at 17:44 PM #)

Lisa, the chopstick method was a delight compared to using my spring-loaded cherry pitter. It was so easy that I'm planning to pick more cherries this week.