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Prepare the cherries, either using a pitting tool and slicing in half or by slicing in half, twisting the halves apart, and prying the pit out of the half in which it remains. Set pitted, halved cherries aside in a mixing bowl.
Shell and chop the pistachios coarsely with a chef’s knife. Aim for a very coarse chop but with no nut remaining whole. Avoid power tools, as even a small Cuisinart will produce pistachio powder, which is not the goal.
Cut the green tops off the scallions and set them aside. Trim and discard the roots from the white parts, then char the white parts. If you have a grill going, char them there, else place them directly on the stove burner and turn them for a couple minutes. (You can also use a dry sauté pan on the stove.) Aim for mostly blackened outside and a soft inner core. The char is important.
Put the charred scallions on a cutting board and finely chop until they have turned into a green-black paste. Scrape them into a small bowl, add the vinegar and olive oil, stir and set aside.
Choose the best of the green tops. Slice them very thinly just off the vertical axis, producing a small pile of slender oblong zeros about an inch and a half tall. It’s tedious, but you can work on a stack of three or four green stems at once. Plunge the entire pile into the ice water, where they will curl into interesting shapes. Stir them briefly and set aside.
Now take the charred-scallion vinaigrette, stir it again, and pour the entire contents over the halved cherries. With your fingers, massage the mixture so that each cherry’s interior is coated with the vinaigrette. Then stir in the pistachios. Salt to taste. Remove the curly green scallions from the ice water and add them.
The original recipe recommended serving the salad on a large flat plate rather than in a bowl, so as to enjoy the colors, textures, and complementary tastes (e.g., sweet cherries and savory charred scallions). A bit of baguette for juice mopping would be a good idea.
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