Makes 4 – 6 servings
Sorrel is a delightful sour-tasting herb that makes delicious olive green soup and adds a tasty bite to salads. The herb is popular during the spring growing season as it's very tender at that time. The soup can be served hot or cold, and is often garnished with sour cream or heavy cream.
The "sorrel-sour" taste comes from oxalic acid that may disappear when sour or heavy cream is added, as the oxalic acid in sorrel reacts with calcium in the milk product. Sorrel soup is very popular in the Eastern European cuisines and is often called "green borscht" as a cousin of the standard borscht.
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped green or white onions or ramps (wild onion)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium potato, chopped
- 4 cups (1L) packed of coarsely chopped sorrel
- Pinch salt
- 1 qt (1L) chicken or vegetable stock or water
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy or sour cream for garnish
- 6- 8 fresh chives stems, finely sliced for garnish
1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions or ramps and turn the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Stir in the potato, cover and cook just until potatoes are tender.
2. Pour the stock into the onions and potatoes and turn up the heat until stock comes to a boil. Stir in the sorrel with a healthy pinch of salt (the sorrel turns a light brown at this point but will return to an olive green). Stir occasionally. Immediately remove from heat. The sorrel turns brown.
3. Puree the soup in a food processor or immersion blender. Chill the soup overnight is if serving it chilled. If serving it hot, return to the heat. Check the seasoning with more salt if needed. The cream can be whisked in at this point and garnished with chives or follow the directions below to make a design on the soup.
4. To serve soup in individual bowls, slowly pour a large spoonful of cream in a narrow circle. Use the tip of a sharp knife to cut through the circle of cream to make a design. Garnish with the chives.
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