One rule of thumb governing utensil purchases is to consider the cost of the item in relation to how often you'll use it. Since cherry season is so short, a pitter scores pretty low on the price-use ratio. But the formula is badly flawed, not taking into account how this gadget affects your life when you put it to use. By that reckoning, if owning a cherry pitter moved you to make this soup just once a year, it'd be worth the ten dollars or so you can expect to pay for it.
Refrigeration/Freezing: Refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze up to 6 months.
Recipe information
Total Time
About 4 hours, including time to chill
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Equipment:
Preparation
Step 1
Place the dried apples and cherries in a medium saucepan with water to cover by an inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the apples and cherries are soft enough to puree, about 30 minutes.
Step 2
Puree with a food processor or immersion blender and return to low heat. Transfer 1/4 cup of the puree to a separate bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until the mixture is smooth. Whisking constantly, pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Step 3
Stir in the buttermilk, cover, and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours. Ladle the soup into 4 soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with lime juice.
