[Sca-cooks] Sorrel, was Purslane

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Maire wrote:
>No purslane recipes, but I *do* have 3 healthy sorrel plants, and outside of
>chopping up a few leaves for additions to a salad, or putting them in a
>tart, what else can I do with them?

Mmm, sorrel soup.

-----

In searching the web, most recipes i've found are variations of the 
French type - with creme fraiche or heavy cream, egg yolks, etc. 
Here's one version...

Soup d'Oseille et pommes de terre
Potato and Sorrel Soup
[oseille is pronounced more-or-less oh-ZAY]
from Provence, France

7 oz. sorrel leaves (or substitute young spinach leaves),
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into julienne strips (1-1/2 inches 
long/1/4 inch thick)
7-8 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Remove the stems from the sorrel. Stacking several leaves on top 
of each other, roll them up lengthwise and then cut them into thin 
ribbons crosswise. Continue chiffonading the res of the sorrel, and 
set aside a few tablespoons for garnish.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven and saute the onion, 
stirring, until it is lightly colored.
3. Add the potatoes and stirring continuously, cook them for about 5 
minutes or until lightly colored.
4. Add 7 cups of the broth and salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Add the sorrel chiffonade, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 
about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
6. Whisk the egg yolks and sour cream together in a small bowl.
7. Pour a spoonful of the hot soup into the egg/sour cream mixture 
and whisk to combine.
8. Whisking the soup constantly, pour the tempered eggs back into the soup.
9. Cook the soup over low heat, moving the soup pot back and forth on 
the burner and continuing to stir with a wooden spoon. Do not allow 
the soup to boil; it should begin to slowly thicken.
10. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Thin with as much of the 
remaining cup of broth as necessary to get a nice consistency.

To serve, ladle the soup into 6 heated serving plates and garnish 
with the reserved chiffonade.

[Note that it has 1/2 egg yolk and 2 tsp. sour cream per person, for 
those concerned about calories from fat...]

-----

Here's one that sounds refreshing for hot summer weather and it's low in fat

Sorrel Salad Soup with Chives  
Makes 8 small bowls

This one's an old-fashioned English classic and perfect if you have a 
bumper crop of sorrel or know where to get it cheap. It's an 
adaptable recipe however so you can use rocket, watercress, or other 
leaves instead. Just add a good squeeze of lemon juice.

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
800 ml seasoned chicken or vegetable stock.
400 gm sorrel washed coarse stems removed and chopped
250 gm mixed salad leaves
salt
black pepper
chopped chives (optional)

Put the cucumber, garlic, and stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Lower the heat and simmer for about 4 minutes or until the cucumber is soft.
Add sorrel and salad leaves and stir
Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Puree in a food processor until very smooth.
Chill in the fridge.
Taste before serving and add salt and pepper if necessary (chilled 
soups sometimes require a little extra seasoning to bring out the 
flavor).
Serve with an ice cube in each, and topped with chives.

-----

Here's the one i'm most familiar with

Schav
Sorrel Borscht  
Serves 6

4 cup water
2 sprigs dill
3 scallions, diced
1 lb sorrel, steamed & chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tb brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cold water
3 red potatoes, boiled and halved
1 cup sour cream
Chopped fresh dill
Chopped cucumbers

In a soup pot, bring the water, dill & scallions to a medium boil & 
cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chopped sorrel & lemon juice, salt, pepper & sugar. Simmer 
for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat & discard the dill sprigs.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cold water till light.
Very slowly pour 2 cups of the hot stock into the egg mixture, 
stirring constantly to prevent curdling.
Then pour egg mixture back into the soup pot, stirring thoroughly.

Chill until very cold, at least 3 hours.
Just before serving, add half a cooked potato to each bowl. Top with 
a generous spoonful or two of sour cream, top with chopped cucumbers, 
and garnish with chopped dill.




-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita