Gardening is not a skill I can brag about. But every year my sorrel plant, a hardy perennial, pops up dependably—a welcome sign of spring! Sorrel is not well known in North America, but it is highly appreciated in French cuisine where it is called oseille.
Sorrel resembles spinach, but don’t be fooled. Take a bite, and you’ll immediately notice its sharp lemony bite. For this reason, it’s often used in a sauce to complement fish and egg dishes. Like spinach, it cooks very quickly. Just let it wilt in hot liquid or a pan, as you do spinach. Young leaves, mixed with milder lettuces, can be served raw in salads.
Sorrel may be difficult to find in supermarkets. You can try farmer’s markets, but growing your own may be your best bet. Garden centers usually sell seeds and starter pots of sorrel during the spring planting season.
One of my favorite sorrel recipes is this simple vegetable soup, which can be made with sorrel or spinach. In French, it is called potage Germiny, named for the Comte de Germiny, a French gastronome who served as finance minister in the 19th century.
Be warned that the minute sorrel meets heat, it loses its vibrant green color. I have tried various methods of preserving the color, such as blanching the sorrel separately. I’ve tried Patricia Wells’s technique of pureeing the sorrel with butter before stirring it into the soup. Alas, neither step made a big difference. I accept that the special lemony flavor of sorrel outweighs the soup’s army green color.
Leeks are a key ingredient. When sautéed in a little butter, they lend a delicious flavor to the soup. When cooking with leeks, remember that they can harbor a considerable amount of grit between the layers, so you have to clean them. After trimming the root end and the dark green leaves (save them for flavoring broths), open the layers by cutting the leeks in half lengthwise, or fanning the trimmed green ends. Then swish them in several changes of water until no trace of grit remains.
You will note that for the liquid, I use plain salted water The reason is that I’ve found that commercial chicken and vegetable broths overpower the delicate flavor of the vegetables.
Preparing this satisfying soup is a treasured spring tradition for me. Whether you use sorrel or spinach, I hope that this recipe will help you celebrate the season!
Equipment: Dutch oven or soup pot; blender
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped leek (white and pale green part only, thoroughly washed)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced, peeled russet potato (1 medium-large)
3¾ cups water
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 bay leaf
4 cups fresh sorrel and/or spinach leaves (3 ounces), stems trimmed, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped
1–2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional; if using spinach)
Freshy ground pepper to taste
½ cup crème fraiche (see Tip) or heavy cream
1 tablespoon milk (optional; if using crème fraiche)
Snipped fresh chives or chervil leaves, for garnish
Preparation
1. In a nonreactive 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, heat the butter until it’s melted. Add the leek and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not colored, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the potato and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the water, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain the simmer and cook, covered, until the potato is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
2. Stir in the sorrel (or spinach); cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Let the soup cool slightly. In batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree. (Use caution when blending hot liquids; see Tip below.) Pour the soup into a pot, and heat it through. If you have used spinach, stir in the lemon juice. (Sorrel is very tart and will not need lemon juice.) Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
3. If using crème fraiche, place it in a small bowl and add the milk; whisk until smooth and pourable. Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Swirl a dollop of the crème fraiche mixture (or heavy cream) into each soup bowl. Garnish with chives (or chervil), if desired.
Yield: Makes 4 (generous 1-cup) servings.
Tip: Pureeing Soup in a Blender. Although a handheld immersion blender is convenient for pureeing soups, I prefer a traditional blender for this recipe because leafy greens like sorrel and spinach tend to get caught in an immersion blender’s blades. To blend hot liquids safely, follow these precautions: Do not fill the blender more than half full; add the soup to the blender in batches, if necessary. Remove the center cap. Cover the blender with a folded kitchen towel and hold it down. Start at low speed and gradually increase the speed until your soup is pureed to your liking. Do not overprocess soups containing potatoes as the potatoes can become gluey.
Tip. Crème fraîche is a cultured cream that is popular in France. It has a thicker consistency and a tangier flavor than regular heavy cream. Vermont Creamery’s crème fraîche is available in many local markets.
Patsy Jamieson