FENNEL AND FIG LEAF CHERRIES, WITH LABNEH, HONEY & TOASTED PISTACHIOS.

FENNEL AND FIG LEAF CHERRIES, WITH LABNEH, HONEY & TOASTED PISTACHIOS.

This delightful summer dessert can be served as an elegant finish to a picnic or dinner party… but you can also just give everyone a spoon and tell them to DIG IN!

So simple and delicious, I was inspired by the fragrant fig trees growing around London, the leaves of which add the most heady scent to the cherry syrup. The local Islington honey has the purest golden taste, a testament to the hardworking bees out back at Nourished Communities on Blackstock Road. 😍

Ingredients:

• 300g Kent Cherries
• 3 young fresh Fig Leaves (can omit, but look around and you might find a hidden fig tree in your neighbourhood! )
• 2-3 TB Local Islington honey
• 1 TSP fennel seeds
• Splash of water
• splash of sherry
• 100g pistachios shelled (I used the salty ones as they taste amazing against the honey )
• 1 tub Yorkshire Labneh
• Honey to serve

Place your foraged fig leaves into the base of a pot with a lid. Wash and stem your cherries then layer them on top. Add the honey , fennel seeds and a splash of water.

Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and allow to cook, covered for 10-15 mins until the cherries are cooked through yet holding their shape.

Spoon out the cherries with a slotted spoon, and set them aside in a bowl, while you continue to reduce the syrup for 5-8 minutes, adding a splash of sherry if you wish. Pour this liquor over the cherries and allow to macerate for an hour or longer.

Peel the pistachios and toast in a dry pan over medium heat, until golden. Allow to cool, then roughly chop.

When ready to serve, spoon out the labneh on a large serving dish, swivelling with a spoon to create dips and crevices. Drizzle a good dollop of honey over the labneh, then spoon on the plump cherries. Pour the Ruby red liquor around the dish and top with toasted pistachios and a final drizzle of honey !

This would also be a welcome side to biscotti or shortbread or a plain packet of biscuits. And do be aware of spitting out the pits ! :)