Cherries Served Like Olives

A twist on a favorite tapa

Here in the U.S., cherry season is usually from mid-spring to mid-summer—May to July. While they’re available in most grocery stores all year round, I always love to eat in season, so this is the perfect time to be eating cherries.

I actually grew up in a neighborhood outside of Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Cervelló, that is very famous for its cherries—I’m sure I’ve told you the story before, but as a kid, my friends and I, we would play a game where we would try to eat the cherries directly off the trees while leave the pits and stems attached! If you have a cherry tree, give it a try—it’s not as easy as it sounds…

The best cherries you’ll find in the US are probably going to be from the west coast or the upper midwest. Have you ever tried California’s dark and very sweet 5 River Islands cherries grown in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, or the famous Rainier cherry from Washington State, which is named for the beautiful mountain that everyone can see throughout the Pacific Northwest? And of course there are the tart Montmorencies of Michigan, and the very famous cherries of Door Country, Wisconsin. Do any of you have favorite cherries out there? Nearby or far away? 

Cherries are so good for you, packed full of anti-inflammatory properties and nutrients that are good for your heart health! They are also just so delicious. And so versatile. They are absolutely perfect by themselves, or you can put them in sweet or savory dishes. Which brings me to….

A cherry recipe with a twist.

In Spain, and in my home, we always have marinated olives, but have you ever thought about how cherries might just be the sweeter versions of olives? They are both round, have a pit at their core, and grow on trees…so maybe you can do to cherries what we do to olives?

So for these Cerezas como aceitunas, Cherries as Olives, we use a savory marinade to bring cherries and olives together—bringing out the salty brine of the olives, and balancing the sweet, juicy cherries.

Happy spring!

Cerezas como aceitunas
Cherries as olives