Sorrel Soup is tasty and nutritious and is just the job when you are feeling a bit run down as it is packed with vitamins, iron and also super tasty. French Sorrel or ‘buckle leaf sorrel’ is related to the ‘dock’ plant and is fairly easy to recognise as the habit and leaves are similar to dock but they are smaller. I cultivate in my potager because I love the fresh zingy lemony flavour and it is needed in fairly large quantities for soup. You can also eat the leaves raw in salads, or cooked in a creamy sauce.
All of the plant ingredients for this soup were either foraged or home grown. I started by gently frying a medium onion cut into chunks, then added some chunks of potatoes and continue to sauté until the potatoes take on a bit of colour. Then add the washed and chopped sorrel leaves and continue to sauté until they wilt. (quantities are guestimated!) Then add water and a stock cube and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked, season to taste. Blend until smooth and serve with croutons. I normally add hot chilli sauce to all of my soups but the flavour of the sorrel needs to shine in this one, you can add garlic if you like it but I think it doesn’t need it. You can make a similar soup using young nettle tops which is also superb.
Walking along the chemin by our land, I spotted a number of edible plants – wild leeks, wild garlic, ‘Jack by the Hedge’ (poor mans garlic) also nettles, mullein (makes a good alternative to toilet paper I am told!!) Don’t confuse sorrel with Arum (lords and Ladies) which is poisonous, The leaves are a similar ‘arrow’ shape but are significantly bigger, sometimes ‘spotted’ and you can see the unusual spadix of the flower.
Heres the link for the NETTLE SOUP RECIPE
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