A rich, wintry stew with a tart, slightly sweet bite from sour cherries gets its deep flavor from tender veal. Choose pork shoulder for a fattier, slightly juicier dish. Recipe adapted from Beyond The North Wind by Darra Goldstein.

Ingreadients:

• 2 pounds boneless veal stew meat or pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons beef or veal demi-glace
• 2 cups fresh or undrained thawed frozen pitted sour cherries
• 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place veal pieces in a bowl; sprinkle all over with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle with flour, and toss to coat. Melt butter with oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over high. Working in 2 batches, add veal; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, 6 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer veal to a bowl using a slotted spoon; set aside. Pour off drippings from Dutch oven.
2. Stir together 3/4 cup boiling water and demi-glace until demi-glace is dissolved. Add demi-glace mixture, cherries, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf to Dutch oven; bring to a boil over high, scraping bottom of pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Uncover; nestle veal in cherry mixture.
3. Cover and roast in preheated oven until veal is very tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove and discard cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.