Fundão cherry jelly

I associate the Portuguese summer with sun, needless to say, but also with varied and delicious fruit. We have peaches, plums, figs and, of course, cherries! I am completely crazy for cherries in general, but for Fundão cherries in particular. Fundão is a small city which belongs to the district of Castelo Branco, in the center of Portugal. Having grown up in Castelo Branco, I was lucky enough to appreciate Fundão cherries since I was a girl and I can assure you that there are no others quite like Fundão's ones.

Today I bring you a jelly that takes advantage of the vibrant color and sweetness of Fundão cherries. On top of that, the recipe is incredibly simple.

For 4 servings:

Ingredients for the jelly:

500 ml (16.9 fl oz) unsweetened almond milk

240 g (8.5 oz) of Fundão cherries (this weight is already without the pits)

1 Tbsp of Port wine

4 Tbsp of light brown sugar

1 Tbsp of agar-agar flakes

Ingredients for the garnish:

12 Fundão cherries

40 g (1.4 oz) of skinless hazelnuts

40 g (1.4 oz) of skinless almonds

3 Tbsp of maple syrup

1 pinch of salt

Instructions:

- Wash the cherries very well. Remove the pits and cut the cherries into small pieces. Make sure you have 240 g (8.5 oz) of cherries (without the pits).

- In a small pan, place the almond milk, cherries, port wine, yellow sugar and agar-agar flakes. Over medium heat, stir from time to time until it comes to a boil. From then on, let it boil for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Then turn off the fire.

- Grind everything until you get a homogeneous liquid. Remove the foam that forms, with the help of a spoon. Finally, divide the liquid into 4 small glass bowls. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

- Coarsely chop the almonds and hazelnuts. Reserve them.

- In a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, place the maple syrup and let it heat up for 1 minute. Then add the hazelnuts, almonds and a pinch of salt. Stir continuously for 2 minutes or until the nuts are golden brown. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

- Before placing the dried fruits on top of the jelly, it will be necessary to separate the dried fruits roughly with your hands, because the maple syrup sticks them together. Divide the nuts over the 4 bowls and cover only half of the top of each bowl, so you can still appreciate the color of the jelly.

- Finally, add 3 Fundão cherries to each bowl!

Nobody will be able to resist this fresh dessert with a crispy touch!

Enjoy! :)