Meggyleves

Recipe from Kate Logan

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Cooking time: 20 min

Servings 4

Meggyleves (meggy means cherry and leves means soup) is a traditional Hungarian cherry soup. Traditionally, this soup is served for dinner in the hot summertime. It is an excellent alternative to Russian okroshka, Greek tarator or Spanish gazpacho. Since Hungary is a wine country, there are two options for cooking this soup - in water (if prepared for children) and on red dry wine (a variant for adults). We suggest you make an adult version of cherry soup.

Cherries

0,8 lbs.
Cream

16 fl.oz.
Vodka

8 tbsp.
Anise

to taste
Cinnamon

4 pcs.
Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

4 pcs.
Cloves

8 pcs.

Calories

44.33 kcal
Protein

0.94 g
Fat

0.27 g
Carbohydrates

9.49 g

To prepare the soup of cherries with cream, first, fill a pot or a deep pan with water, two-thirds of the capacity. Add a cup of sugar and stir constantly until it dissolves. Add the spices. Add a little at a time, checking constantly for taste so as not to overpower the taste of the soup with spices. Boil the mixture for 15-20 minutes, taste it. If the water is rich enough, then add 2 tablespoons of vodka, or if it is not available, you can replace it with another alcohol, so you will give a special flavor to the soup.
Rinse the cherries in a colander and peel them from the seeds with a teaspoon or a special device. Remove the pot from the heat, take out the spices, put the cherries, close the lid and leave to infuse for fifteen minutes. Strain the cherries, puree them, return them to the broth and add the cream. Then pour the soup into a soup pot, cool it and put it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
Pour the finished cherry cream soup on plates, garnish with berries and serve with shortbread cookies.

Use cherries in their own juice if you are making the dish out of season and can't find cherries in the store.
Some spices can be made yourself at home. For example, dried favorite herbs, chopped and added to dishes.
Whole spices are the easiest to distinguish from fakes. Powdered spices always contain unnecessary substances and do not have a characteristic lasting flavor. Real quality spices often have a pungent but pleasant smell.
Be careful when you pour the cream in. Pour in small portions until you are sure it will not curdle.