Our friend Balazs brought us a jar of sour cherries from Hungary so I used them in this starter, inspired by the Tables des Cordeliers restaurant in Condom (see here)
– make some polenta according to the instructions on the packet, add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a little grated parmesan. Press down into a square or rectangular dish and put in the fridge to set.
– Reduce some sour cherries in their juice with a little red wine vinegar and some sugar. Crush the cherries into a pulp and boil until the sauce starts to thicken.
– Remove the pips from a few fresh cherries (I have a de-pipper designed for olives but it works for cherries too)
– Add the fresh cherries to the sauce for just one minute so they heat through
– slice “fingers” of polenta and place them under a hot grill until they are heated through and starting to “toast” on top
– decorate the polenta slices with small squares of feta cheese and the fresh cherries
– garnish with the hot cherry sauce