Head Chef Russell Hunt,

Carnarvon Arms,

Newbury

CHERRY ripe, cherry ripe — summer is here!!

As a chef, this time of year brings me two things — a very hot place to work in and brightly-coloured, amazing ingredients.

One of those ingredients justg happens to be my favourite fruit, CHERRIES!

I absolutely adore them whether it be in a pie, a mousse or even just in a bowl on their own. They are awesome!

I’d like to give you a recipe which is a favourite of mine — red wine poached cherry and frangipane tart.

For the tart base 250g plain flour 50g icing sugar 125g unsalted butter 2 medium eggs 1 egg yolk 1 vanilla pod Splash of cold milk l Cream butter and sugar together, add flour combine to a breadcrumb consistency, add eggs, yolk and milk to form a dough then knead on a LIGHTLY!!! floured surface rest in fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes, once rested roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to the desired size (about 2mm thick).

l Lightly grease a tart/flan case then line with the sweet paste and baking beans, blind bake in a preheated oven @175 degrees for 18-20 mins till the edges of the pastry are a light golden brown, remove baking beans then replace the tart base in the oven for four minutes.

For the filling Frangipane 100g butter, softened 100g golden caster sugar 2 eggs 140g ground almonds 75g plain flour l In a mixing bowl using an electric whisk or food processor cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, whisk together the eggs then gradually add them to the mix mixing thoroughly until smooth, now sieve together the flour and almonds and gently fold into the mix until smooth.

l Now spread the frangipane into the tart base and set aside while you prepare the cherries Red wine poached cherries 150g fresh cherries 200ml red wine 1 star anise 75g caster sugar l Heat a thick bottomed sauce pan then pour in the red wine, add the sugar and star anise, simmer until sugar has dissolved. De-stone your cherries, then remove liquid from heat. Add the cherries while the liquid is still hot. Cover with cling film and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

l Remove the cherries from the liquid and gently press them into your frangipane lined tart. Place back in the oven until frangipane has cooked through (roughly 15 mins).

l While the tart is cooking reduce the poaching liquid to a thick syrup then once the tart has finished use this as a glaze.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of crème fraiche... DELICIOUS!