Poached Black Cherries

This doesn't need an introduction; a great late spring-summer fruit whose steamy embrace stains fingers, lips and clothes, so be warned! Poaching cherries enhances their sweet and tart flavour. With spices thrown in to the mix it becomes a very grown up dessert. Serve the cherries and the delicious juice with vanilla ice-cream, yoghurt, sponge cake or absolutely whatever takes your fancy.

The Recipe

A punnet of black cherries (300g)

Dash of red wine (optional)

750ml orange juice

2 Star anise

Vanilla pod used whole

2 tbsp of honey

Method

Wash cherries. Add to  the saucepan with the orange juice, red wine, honey, vanilla pod and star anise. Simmer until cooked (about 25 minutes). Pour cherries and juice into sterilised jars. Store in the  fridge. Will keep for a week. Rinse the vanilla pod and use to make vanilla sugar simply by inserting it into a jar of sugar, shaking and leaving it in there permanently.