It’s time to enjoy a ripe old time W

E’RE now into one of the most fleeting, yet delicious seasons in the British ingredients calendar – the cherry season.

I adore cherries so much, perhaps more than many other fruit, because they’re really not around for long.

Not only are they on our shelves for only a couple of months, those of us with cherry trees in the garden know that the birds consider them to be most definitely their property, and delight in stripping the branches of their delicious cargo in no time at all.

A rare commodity! But how delicious.

There’s a great simple pleasure to be had from simply taking the time to enjoy a little brown paper bag of cherries whilst contemplating life.

They taste exquisite, sour and sweet all at once, with a truly satisfying ‘pop’ as you bite into each one, and, of course, they’re incredible to cook with.

All those desserts – pies, crumbles, cakes and parfaits.

They make that most glorious dessert, Cherries Jubilee, a sweet compote of the fruit to be warmed and poured over ice-cream for the ultimate taste and texture explosion.

And they go well with many savoury recipes too – roast birds such as duck or goose absolutely love the tartness of cherries to offset the fatty richness.

And in that spirit, we come to this week’s recipe.

Lately, following a recent visit to a terrific Iranian restaurant in town, I’ve been obsessed with the cooking of that part of the world.

It’s unique and delicious, employing very little garlic or spices, but instead using the natural sourness of fruits such as limes and pomegranates to flavour the dishes. Sour cherries are used a lot, too.

I’ll admit, unless you have a certain sour-ish variety growing at home, you’ll have to make do with regular table cherries.

These meatballs are a non-canon creation of mine, but very similar to the skewered minced meat kebabs known as koobieh, and their big savoury flavour is complemented by a sauce made with cherries, vinegar and lemon.

It’s very sharp and tangy, and would actually go well with a roast joint of pork, or even a leg of lamb.

But it’s worth trying this recipe as it’s an incredibly mouthwatering and flavourful combination, especially with the inclusion of some soft, fluffy flatbreads flavoured with toasted sesame.

There’s quite a lot of recipe here, so let’s wrap things up and get cracking.