Adapted from: Spitalnick, A. (editor). “This Just In… Bing Cherries”. Vegetarian Times. (Vol.37, No. 6). July/August 2011. p 16.

My Comment: Growing up in the mid-west, I don’t remember much about Bing cherries; my cheery cherry memory is pitting sour cherries (by the pound) so my Mother could freeze them. Sweet cherries were Queen Annes.  I don’t know, maybe there were Bing cherries and I was just not paying attention.

That said, this is the time of year when markets and even our CSA usually have Bing cherries available. I don’t often use dressing on salads; but this was intriguing — the sweetness of ripe red-purple cherries mixed with vinegar and mustard was an enticement on a sweltering summer evening when we just felt like eating a simple salad for supper.

Vegetarian Times did not specify amounts — so I won’t either.  Most recipes call for oil to vinegar ratios of 2:1 — I usually do just the opposite (there’s a shock). Add honey to taste and about a tablespoon of mustard (more or less to your personal taste).

Puree together:

Pitted bing cherries (I used about 30)
Almond oil (see note above; I think I used about 2-3 TBSP)
Champagne vinegar (see note above)
mustard (about 2 tsp does the trick)
honey (use agave or other liquid sweetener to make this vegan)