Chik Chak Cherry Soup

Often, DH and I visit various and sundry countries for various and sundry reasons (my that feels like a land and time and place far, far away right now in the time of Coronavirus).

We had gone to Hungary and feasted on many wonderful and different things (still dreaming of the hot kyortush we had at the bakery). Since the warm weather is upon us and you want light and refreshing things to perk up your mood and appetite, I remembered the delicious cold cherry soup which we had there, a specialty in Hungary.

I decided to make it on the spot and since I couldn’t cook it, winged it and decided to make it all cold and see what we shall see.

Although most recipes insist on your cooking this and then chilling it, I skipped the cooking part and chilled my jar of sour cherries in light syrup and my fresh squeezed (bottled) orange juice and just whisked it and all the other ingredients together and served super cold.

Simple, easy, refreshing and ready within minutes. It’s a delightful starter or an equally good end of the meal picker upper. I actually popped the mixture into the freezer for about half an hour to make sure it was very cold. Tangy and lightly sweet – a big hit.

Chik Chak Cherry Soup

1 jar 680 grams or 24 ounces pitted tart cherries in light syrup
1/2 cup orange juice, preferably fresh or bottled fresh
1/3 cup confectioners sugar (not regular sugar, this must dissolve instantly)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk/soy milk

Directions:

Pour the entire contents of the cherries in syrup (pitted !) including the liquid, into a bowl/container large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add the orange juice, confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch of salt, (yes, salt, adds tremendously to the flavor, believe it or not) and the milk/soy milk. Whisk well till fully combined and the sugar is dissolved. Taste to make sure it’s not too tart and store in fridge till ready to eat. You can pop it in the freezer for about 1/2 an hour to make very cold but don’t forget it in there. It doesn’t freeze well. Delightful!