Serves 6
• grated rind of 3 lemons
• juice of 4 large lemons (about 1 cup)
• ⅔ cup sugar, or more to taste
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup light white wine
• 1 lb. fresh, sweet, dark cherries
• 5 egg yolks
• 10 to 12 ice cubes
• 1 cup sour cream sweetened with 2 to 3 tablespoons . sugar
1. Combine the lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, water, and white wine in a large enameled saucepan. Heat the mixture until the sugar is dissolved completely, stirring constantly.
2. Wash the cherries, remove their stems, and pit them. Set aside 18 of the cherries, and add the rest to the soup. Simmer them gently until they are soft, then put them through a fine sieve or purée them in a blender. Return the purée to the soup. Add the egg yolks and beat them in with a whisk. Continue whisking gently for several minutes over very low heat as the soup thickens.
3. Allow the soup to cool somewhat, giving it an occasional stir. Taste, and add more sugar if you like. When the soup is no longer steaming hot, put in 10 or 12 ice cubes and stir. Then put the soup in the refrigerator and chill it until it is time to serve—at least an hour.
4. To prepare the sweetened sour cream, just add 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar to 1 cup of fresh sour cream and beat it thoroughly.
5. To serve, put 3 of the reserved cherries into each bowl, ladle in the well-chilled soup, and put a nice round dollop of the sweetened sour cream on top.
