Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can of pitted black cherries in syrup, drained (see note below)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup cherry syrup (from the drained can of cherries)
• 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder or 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup port wine (I used KWV rich tawny port)
• 1/2 cup red currant jelly (a 155g bottle of Staffords Redcurrant Jelly)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated
• 2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed (to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. (Some cans of cherries have a lighter, less sweet syrup, some have a thicker, sweeter syrup than others, so please taste sauce as instructions below indicate, and adjust).

2. Drain the cherries in a sieve over a bowl, and keep at hand.

3. In a pot, measure off the water and stock powder OR use 1/4 cup chicken broth.

4. Add all the ingredients, from the 1/4 cup water down to the pinch of ground cloves -- BUT do NOT add the cornflour and water.

5. Use 2 - 3 tablespoons lemon juice to start, but keep extra juice in case you need to add more to the sauce when you taste it.

6. Stir the sauce over medium heat until the redcurrant jelly dissolves, then boil quite vigorously until about 1 cup liquid is left. As you start out with about 1 3/4 cup, this does not take long.

7. If in doubt about the amount as it boils down, pull off heat, cool slightly, and pour into a Pyrex or heat-resistant measuring cup. I simply tilt the pot, and take a guess.

8. Pour sauce back into pot.

9. Mix the cornflour with the water, add to the sauce, and bring to a simmer while stirring. Let the sauce thicken, and remove from heat. Do not boil longer than a minute, as the cornflour might split.

10. Taste for seasoning: you will almost certainly want to add more lemon juice. I did not add salt, but a pinch will probably improve the taste.

11. Add about 3/4 cup of the cherries in the sieve.

12. Number of servings will depend a lot on how the sauce is used on the meats.