Meggyleves

Ingredients

The fruit

• 800 gsour cherries
• meggy, stoned
• fresh or frozen
• 1 litrewater
• 150 gsugar
• or to taste

The aromatics

• 1cinnamon stick
• 3cloves
• a strip of lemon zest
• a pinch of salt

To thicken

• 300 mlsour cream
• 2 tablespoonsplain flour
• or 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 100 mlcold water

To finish

• a squeeze of lemon juice
• a little more sour cream
• to swirl

Directions

1. Use that instead if you want the flavour. Sour cream splits if added to a hot pot. Flour stabilises the cream considerably. It must be mixed in smoothly first. Stone all of the sour cherries. Work over a bowl to catch the juice. Add all of that juice to the pot. Do not let it go down the sink. Put the cherries in a large pot. Add the water and all the sugar. Add the cinnamon stick and the cloves.
2. Add the lemon zest and the pinch of salt. It also stops the soup tasting flat. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. The cherries should soften but stay whole.
3. Taste the liquid and adjust the sugar. It should be clearly sweet to taste. Lift out the whole cinnamon stick. Take them all out before thickening. Put the sour cream into a bowl. Add all of the plain flour to it. Whisk them together until smooth.
4. Add the cold water in gradually. It must be completely smooth at this stage. Whisk it thoroughly before moving on. Take the pot right off the heat. Spoon a ladle of hot liquid into the cream. Whisk it in very thoroughly indeed. Add another ladle and whisk again. Three ladles is usually enough.
5. Pour the warmed cream into the pot. Stir it through the pot gently. Stir it slowly and quite evenly. Fold it through rather than beating it. Return the pot to a very low heat. Let it cook for about five minutes.
6. Stir it constantly throughout. The flour needs cooking or it tastes raw. Keep it barely steaming rather than bubbling. It should coat a spoon lightly. Leave it looser than you want it. Add water later if it goes too far. Finishing it is straightforward enough. Take the pot right off the heat. Squeeze in a little lemon juice. It stops the sweetness dominating.
7. Add it at the end rather than cooked. Let the soup cool to room temperature. Give it at least four full hours. Chill it properly well beforehand. Serving it is always done cold. Ladle it out into cold deep bowls. Swirl a little more sour cream on top. Drop it in and drag a spoon through it. It keeps three days refrigerated. Stir it before serving as it separates.

Technique

• Cherry stones contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic compound: swallowing a whole stone is not a concern since it passes through intact, but crushing or cracking them releases cyanide. Some old recipes add cracked stones for an almond note — the atlas does not recommend that, and a drop of almond extract gives the same flavour with none of the risk.
• Sour cream splits if added straight to a hot pot, so whisk it smooth with the flour first, then stir in three ladles of hot liquid one at a time to warm it gradually before it goes back. Cook it out for five minutes over very low heat so the flour loses its raw taste, but never let it boil, which splits the cream even then.
• Sour cherries are sharp and hold their flavour cooked; sweet cherries lose their character and make the soup cloying. The balance of sweet and sharp is the whole point, so taste it and keep the sharpness.

Substitutions

• Frozen sour cherries work very well, come already stoned and release more juice as they thaw.
• Cornflour stands in for plain flour as the thickener, using about half as much.

Variations

• It opens a summer meal rather than closing it, which is genuinely how it is served in Hungary.
• Leave it looser in the pot than you want it, since it thickens considerably as it chills.
• A swirl of sour cream on the deep red soup is the usual finish.

History

Made from Hungary’s sour cherries, a major national crop; the cold fruit soup opens summer meals rather than closing them.

Frequently asked questions

What is Meggyleves?

Meggyleves is a soup & stew from Hungary: chilled sour-cherry soup with sour cream, served before the main course. Made from Hungary’s sour cherries, a major national crop; the cold fruit soup opens summer meals rather than closing them.

How long does Meggyleves take to make?

Meggyleves takes 20 minutes plus chilling of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Meggyleves?

Yes, within limits. Frozen sour cherries work very well, come already stoned and release more juice as they thaw. Cornflour stands in for plain flour as the thickener, using about half as much.

What is the most important thing to get right in Meggyleves?

Use that instead if you want the flavour. Sour cream splits if added to a hot pot. Flour stabilises the cream considerably. It must be mixed in smoothly first. Stone all of the sour cherries. Work over a bowl to catch the juice. Add all of that juice to the pot. Do not let it go down the sink. Put the cherries in a large pot. Add the water and all the sugar. Add the cinnamon stick and the cloves.