Black Cherry-Pistachio Salad With Charred Scallion Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

How does the charring take place? In a pan? Holding directly over heat with tongs ? Exciting!

No cherry pitter - no problem. Save your fingers and use a chopstick and a slender necked bottle! Here's a recent discovery that gave me a lot of joy. https://healthynibblesandbits.com/pit-cherries-without-cherry-pitter/ It works incredibly well and will make you smile!

made this + put into a taco with grilled boneless pork. was excellent.

Guessing because not everyone owns one.

Angela, I admired your creativity as I read the accompanying article in today's NYT regarding the origin of this intriguing recipe. I am a plant-based eater of whole foods and appreciate that you were willing to change your whole menu for the sake of one vegan guest. All the vegans I know are over the moon when a host provides just one dish we can eat. I'd so love to know what else you served alongside this lovely salad. Care to share? Thanks.

A cherry pitter is a must if you have kids in the house: the kids will do the pitting for you! Especially if it is the one shaped like a pistol.

Nice dish. We added some goat cheese that really helped balance out the acidity and flavors. Very nice.

Feel free to! I just don't own one and wanted this to be as low tech as possible.

2/3 I recommend making an oil-greased packet of heavy foil for the scallion bulbs and putting it on the BBQ for 20 mins whilst you pit the cherries. Smokey, blister-charred, still moist, and fragrant! Put parchament down on your cutting board to chop and mash the result. It will dull your blade but preserve the board. I tried chopsticking the cherries over a wine bottle per Beth's suggestion. Fun, but with juices running down my arms, the paring knife, for want of a pitter, was a better option.

I’m also curious why one wouldn’t use a cherry pitter.

do it in a pan w/o oil

OK. Here's the thing about owning a cherry pitter - it is a blast! It also works on green olives; the hard kind that you practically have to chip with a Bowie knife. I had a hilarious morning with some friends pitting and gobbling cherries, because they are like tiny guns and they make this great popping sound. And poof! no wrestling with pits. Just the yummy meat and some fun.

I used this salad as the fruit salsa on top of pan seared halibut and it was a delight! I also puréed some of the salad in my food processor and used it as a garnish alongside a crabmeat and green pea base- gorgeous and delicious! Pair with a tart rose and it’s a summer meal to remember.

Blueberry season — opportunity to try this recipe with another fruit too— yay!

Shout out to Andie - the oiled packet in the BBQ worked like a charm. No pan to wash, no hanging around over an open flame gripping tongs to hold the scallions of which, no doubt, the scallions in tongs, half would slip out and be MIA before I was done.

I like cherries a lot, and this recipe brought forward their sweet and tart flavors. PX is sherry vinegar made from Pedro Jimenez grapes. My guess is that any sherry vinegar would be a good sub for cider vinegar.I will continue to make this recipe when cherries are in season.

Cooked the scallion bottoms at 425 degrees on a parchment covered sheet pan for 10-15 minutes. Used PX vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.Served on lettuce. Tried topping with feta but it didn’t add anything. Garnished with raw scallion greens cut into thin circles. Didn’t use the ice bath curling technique and see no need for it. Good to have used 2 bunches of scallions.

Didn’t use my best olive oil and it was still delicious! I love the mix of textures and sweet/savory is always a winning combo. Used salted, roasted shelled pistachios and didn’t find the need for more salt but did serve with some crumbled feta alongside so that may have added the right amount. Used Colorado bing cherries from a small family farm and I’ll use them for this recipe every year they’re available!

Made twice, 1st as written because we had abundance of sweet cherries and wanted a savory recipe. Found cider vinegar too astringent for the cherries. Second time substituted ~ 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses. We've never eaten so many cherries at one sitting!! Cut verrry thin slices of scallion tops, on strong bias, and they curl fancifully. Accompanied a picnic of shaved ham, ciabatta, and Tanis's cucumber, mint, feta, sumac salad. Finished with a friend's stone fruit + raspberries galette.

After trying out a couple different versions of cutting scallion tops on the bias, I finally figured out what is meant by the direction. Had I looked closely at the image above, I might not have made those false starts. Make a very long bias cut on a single scallion: the bias edge should be ~1.5" long. Cut another, very thin 1.5" bias strip, and repeat until the whole scallion is cut. With control, it's possible to cut several scallions at a time, but they may not be the thin shreds pictured.

Added mint from my garden and ricotta I had in the fridge. Divine!

Skip this if you don’t like reviews of revised recipes, but stick around if you like to read recipe riffs: sautéed shallot in olive oil till smaller pieces were crisp. Added white wine vinegar and black pepper and poured over pitted but not necessarily halved cherries. No massage for the cherries. Put on platter and garnished with scallion greens (prepared as directed) and very coarsely chopped, roasted, salted pistachios. Easy and delicious.

I loved all of it except the apple cider vinegar in the dressing. It overwhelmed the charred scallions, which are genius. Did anyone feel the same? I’m definitely going to make this again, but would like a dressing that allows the charred scallions to shine. Any suggestions for an alternate acid that’s not so sharp, but also not sweet like balsamic?

Any ideas for substitution of cherries? They’re out of season, but love this recipe

Loved this recipe, have so much leftover though — anyone know how well this keeps? I figure with the oil content in the vinaigrette it will prob solidify a bit in the fridge, but maybe it comes to room temp nicely the next day? Or perhaps this is a one-and-done scenario…

please don't exile me, but has anyone tried this with frozen cherries? not quite in season yet

I used strawberries because thats what I had and it came out beautifully! This will be a staple in my kitchen from now on

Re: Pitting. In the video, she says to use a pitter if you prefer, or have one. Important to do it over a bowl to conserve the juiceRe: charring of the scallions: The video showed her charring them directly on the heating element if an electric burner. She said you can do them directly on a grill, a fast burner, or however you like, based in what you have available. But she did emphasize the direct contact. Really brown/black.

Love this one! The scallion curls are SO pretty! Thanks for the tip, I'll do that for other salads now, too.

We charred our onions on the grill, took about 12 minutes. The first time we made it we oiled the onions before we grilled them. Didn't do that this time. Results seem to be the same. Delicious, pretty and interesting salad!