Wednesday, March 26, 2008

S is for Sorrel Sauce

Back in London and this was the first sorrel recipe we made at home - a simple sauce to have with fish. It also gave us an excuse to use the set of fish plates that only get an outing on Christmas Eve. When Freddie was five years old he went to a church auction clutching a ten pound note. These plates caught his eye and he started bidding. It was a contest between a seasoned antique dealer from Notting Hill and a small boy in a Snoopy t-shirt. Freddie won. We came home on the bus with a huge laundry bag packed with a six place setting. Helped by the infamous fish plates, Freddie scored this mild creamy sorrel sauce 8 out of 10.
Creamy Sorrel Sauce

Sorrel leaves

A knob of butter

Teaspoon of water

Thick single cream

Heat a knob of butter on a medium heat in a pan with a teaspoon of water. Add the sorrel leaves and stir. They will quickly wilt and start to turn a khaki colour. Keep stirring. After two minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Use a hand blender to puree the sauce. Serve with chicken or fish or you can stir it into new potatoes.

How do you like to eat your sorrel?

12 comments:

  1. My favourite is sorrel chopped up and added to scrambled eggs as they cook. Seasoned with black pepper and sometimes a little grated cheese and served on toast. Oh, and eaten outside in the sunshine.
    . . . that's if there's any sorrel left - as the hens think it's the BEST green stuff ever and can reduce the sorrel patch to nothing in seconds - suppose they add it to the egg at source!

    Celia

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  2. Mmm, delicious, all that butter all that cream. I do the same, but in a non-stick pan, so no butter (sometimes a smidgeon of oil), and add a little 0% Greek yoghurt at the end - the result is a little sharper, and just as khaki. I don't bother to whizz it unless I've put in a little cooked spinach for colour

    Love the idea of sorrel in scrambled eggs.

    Love those fish dishes, Freddie


    Joanna

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  3. Anonymous11:02 AM

    Celia
    I like that idea - that the hens flavour their own eggs. If you let them eat lots and lots of sorrell would the eggs have a subtle lemony taste and a faint khaki hue?

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  4. Anonymous11:13 AM

    Joanne - The Greek Yoghurt would be a good alternative - and a little less fattening. But you are right in that it must accentuate the sharpness of the sorrel..

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  5. I've never had sorrel though I've heard about it. What we call sorrel is something completely different, it is a fruit and we make drink with it.

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  6. Just like this! With a plain piece of fish, salad and potatoes. Delish!

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  7. Can't wait for the sorrel to come up in my garden -- this looks like a wonderful recipe to have with some roast salmon.

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  8. "If you let them eat lots and lots of sorrell would the eggs have a subtle lemony taste and a faint khaki hue?"

    LOL . . . I'd have a VERY messy hen-house to clean out!!!!!!

    Celia ;)

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  9. Anonymous8:38 PM

    I've never had sorrel. Where did you find it?

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  10. Anonymous8:51 PM

    I found it first in the wild - but then in Harrods food hall Schmoof. It was very much a luxury purchase!
    But I have also heard that Wholefoods sometimes stock it in Kensington High Street...
    Charlotte
    x

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  11. Anonymous8:51 PM

    I found it first in the wild - but then in Harrods food hall Schmoof. It was very much a luxury purchase!
    But I have also heard that Wholefoods sometimes stock it in Kensington High Street...
    Charlotte
    x

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  12. I've never done anything with sorrel but always enjoy it when I have it. Fabulous plates - great find, Freddie!

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