This is easy if you have a cherry stoner. It's a little device that looks like a spring-loaded G-clamp. It cuts a round hole in one end of the cherry and pushes the stone out all in one move. I had one. My mother-in-law gave it to me but it lay around for ages without being used then I gave it away to a friend who was making jam.
Not having a cherry stoner makes the job a little more time consuming. The best way is to cut the cherries in half around the stone, twist one half away then, with a deft flick of the knife, remove the stone from the other half. Once you've got a bunch of stoneless cherries, the rest is easy.
The quantities here will make about four servings.
Ingredients
250g of cherries
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
A little ground black pepper, dried oregano and dried basil
A pinch of salt
Some lettuce leaves
Prepare the cherries as above (cut them in half if you've been fortunate enough to locate a cherry stoner) and mix all the ingredients together except the lettuce leaves. Leave the mixture for half an hour or more for the flavours to mingle. Shortly before serving, arrange the leaves around the edges of small bowls (or long-stemmed glasses if you're aiming to impress) and after giving the cherry mixture a quick stir, spoon it into the bowls.
This salad makes a nice light starter.