Not really Turkish at all, but French – cerises au vinaigre – these work brilliantly with lamb, yoghurt and goat’s cheese, so they’re perfect with this meal, and make it special. It’s better if you prepare these cherries a little in advance – a week, if possible – though I’ve often just made them the day before I want to serve them. Packed in a sterilised jar (see below) with a vinegar-proof lid, they will keep for a few years.
SWEET PICKLED CHERRIES
Fills a 1 litre jar
500g cherries
325ml white wine vinegar
450g granulated sugar
½ cinnamon stick
6 black peppercorns
2 cloves
- Prick each cherry with a skewer or darning needle (this stops them bursting), but keep the stalks on if you can, as they look good.
- Heat the vinegar with the sugar and spices, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve.
- Add the cherries to the mixture and simmer gently for 4 minutes. Lift the cherries out with a slotted spoon into a clean, warm jar (if you plan to keep these rather than use them all for this meal, you should use a sterilised jar, see below). Jars should have vinegar-proof lids.
- Remove the spices and boil the vinegar liquid until it becomes slightly syrupy; it will thicken more as it cools. Once cool, pour it over the cherries, leaving a few centimetres of space above the level of the liquid and the top of the jar. Screw on the lid. to sterilise jars
- Put the jars and lids through the dishwasher and use while both are still hot, or wash them in soapy water, then dry in a low oven for 30 minutes.
