Chef Terri Milligan (Inn at Kristofer’s, Sister Bay, Wisconsin)
Serves 8
Door County cherries are sour cherries, so sweetening is required for this soup. If fresh cherries are not available, substitute with frozen cherries. Be careful when purchasing frozen cherries, as some are frozen with sugar already in them. These presweetened cherries are fine to use in this recipe, but make sure to reduce the additional sugar accordingly.
2½ pounds cherries, pitted (may substitute frozen cherries, thawed)
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or to taste)
Approximately 2½ cups apple or cherry juice
2 cups pinot noir wine
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch (see Chef’s Tips on slurry, this page)
⅓ cup cold water
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Place the pitted cherries and sugar in a medium soup pot. Add enough juice to just cover the cherries. Stir to combine. Add the wine. Bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Taste the soup; if not sweet enough, add additional sugar.
Remove the soup from the heat. Using either an immersion blender or a food processor, puree the soup. (The soup will not be completely pureed; there will be some bits of cherries in the finished soup.)
Place the soup back on the stove and bring to a simmer. To make a slurry, in a separate bowl, dissolve arrowroot or cornstarch in cold water. While slowly pouring the slurry into the soup, continue to whisk until the soup slightly thickens (add additional slurry, if necessary). Add the ground cloves and nutmeg.
Cool the soup to room temperature, and then place in the refrigerator to chill. The soup should chill overnight, if possible.
Serve the soup in a soup bowl or over-sized martini glass.
Chef’s Tip
If making this as a chilled soup, use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch when thickening. Arrowroot creates a soup that is clearer, while cornstarch tends to create a finished soup that is a bit cloudy.