Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) - a year of food by the season

I have a lot of broad leaf sorrel (Rumex acetosa) growing in my garden. Sorrel is an early spring perennial and I have been eating from the same patch of plants that I seeded from a single packet 8 years ago. I simply sowed a package of seeds that I bought through mail order from Richter's.  I remember being impressed that they came up the next year and early in the season when you are looking for garden foods to add to your salad and soups.  It is quite prolific and at various points I have dug up sections and given them to friends and neighbours that enjoy spring greens to start their own patch.

The leaves are best eaten when young and tender. If you trim the plants back they will keep producing all summer and into the fall - otherwise it goes to seed. The photo below shows the garden sorrel mid-June of last year and it is in need of being cut back. As the season progresses it grows as high as a meter.


All sorrels are acidic and sour-tasting. I describe the flavour as lemony and tangy. The name is derived from the French word sur (sour).

 The acidity is due to the vitamin C, oxalic acid and oxalate content. The latter substances are responsible for the occasional cases of sorrel poisoning in humans and animals. Most of these have been in Europe where garden sorrel grows wild. Regardless, it is usually recommended that you use sorrel in small amounts. The high oxalic acid content is reduced by cooking. If you have gout, rheumatism or kidney problems you should avoid sorrel.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 250 ml serving): %Daily Values are 15% each of Vitamins A and C and 2% iron. It has 5 calories 0 grams of fat! There will be other nutritional benefits of sorrel but they are not included in my nutrient data base in the software I use.


CULINARY USE: The raw leaves are used in salads. It can also be cooked like spinach. I use sorrel mixed with other greens in soups, omelets, sauces,vinaigrettes etc. I also use it in the recipe for Green Ricotta Pie found at this link.


MEDICINAL USE: according to folk medicine sorrel was infused as a tea to treat kidney and liver ailments. The fresh leaf and rhizome are diuretic, laxative and antiseptic.

FREEZING: you can dry sorrel but it may not have a lot of flavour.  It does freeze well.  All I do is give a good rinse under cold water and put in a plastic bag, seal and freeze.  It can also be frozen in a broth or cooked dishes. You could also make an herb oil puree with olive oil and sorrel alone, or with other greens, and freeze it for later use.

Yours in good taste,
© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc

Soup of Garden Greens

The original soup recipe called for watercress but mentioned that you could also use spinach or sorrel.  I have a number of patches of perennial sorrel and a lot of other greens in the garden so I decided to use them rather than going shopping at the store.  My mix included arugula, beet greens, kale, lettuce, Asian red mustard, spinach and Swiss chard.

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) has a lemony flavour.

Arugula, also know as roquette, has a peppery flavour.

Asian red mustard tastes a bit like wasabi to me.  

True Siberian Kale is my favourite kale.  It tastes sweet and a bit like young broccoli.  I had one patch that grew for four years and successfully over-wintered in northern Ontario though it eventually petered out.  Let part of it go to seed and save them for a future crop.  It has pretty yellow flowers.

Lovely lovage tastes stronger than celery and is best used in smaller amounts.  It freezes and dries well.

ORGANIC and GARDEN INGREDIENTS:
Makes 4-6 servings (about 2 litres - 8 cups in total)

1 Tbsp (15 ml) each butter and good olive oil
2 cups/1 large sweet onion (Vidalia), diced
2 cups (500 ml) potatoes, diced - I didn't peel them
4 celery ribs, chopped (about 2 cups/500 ml) - I used 1/2 cup (125 ml) young garden lovage foliage and stems
4 cups (1 liter) chicken or vegetable broth or water
1/2 (2.5 ml) teaspoons sea salt - depends on your taste and how salty your broth is
1/2 (2.5 ml) teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups (1 liter), greens like watercress or other greens, rinsed and drained.  I used arugula, beet greens, kale, lettuce, red mustard, spinach and Swiss chard
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream - I used Organic Meadow, 14% MF
1/8th tsp (0.6 ml) ground cayenne and nutmeg

Fresh dill, lettuce, lovage and parsley sprigs for garnish

METHOD:

1. Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add diced onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes or until onion is softened.

2. Add diced potato and sliced celery (or lovage), and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. I cleaned up the potatoes but left the skins on for extra fibre and nutrients. The photo below is of garden lovage leaves and stems.

3. Add broth and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cover; simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until potato is tender. I used a homemade turkey stock that I had previously frozen for this very occasion.

4. If you are using watercress, stir it in at the end of cooking. This ensures a fresh bright green soup. I added the clean, sliced greens from my garden during the last 5 minutes as I was using kale, sorrel and heartier greens that need a bit of cooking. Make sure they are tender before you take the soup off the heat.

5. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the ground cayenne and nutmeg as well (optional). The soup tastes great without the sour cream if you are avoiding dairy.

6. Leave the soup chunky or puree, all, or part of it. Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold. Thin with a bit of stock or milk before serving if the soup is too thick. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs and baby lettuce. Below I used baby dill, lovage, parsely and red leaf lettuce for the garnish.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1 1/2 cup - 375 ml serving): 210 calories, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 4 g fibre, 4 g sugar, 8 g protein. % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet are 60% vitamin A, 80% vitamin C, 10% each calcium and iron.

If you like this post you might also like the sorrel and lovage soup with carrot mint puree:
http://chapmanslanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/sorrel-lovage-soup-with-carrot-mint.html

Yours in good taste,
© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
http://nancyguppy.com/

Wood Sorrel - free food & tea from your garden and forest

There are many species of common wood sorrel in North America (Oxalis species - oxalidaceae). The type I find at Chapman's Landing is prolific and would usually be thought of as a weed given that it is invasive and common. This wood sorrel has tiny clover shaped leaves and little yellow flowers with five petals. At night, or in cooler weather, the leaves fold up. Wild or wood sorrel is different than the broad leaf sorrel (ruminex acetosa) that I wrote about earlier this year.

The sour leaves are delicious eaten as a garden snack but I also like to add them to salads and use as edible wild garnishes. Lately I have started making wild sorrel tea and that couldn't be easier.

Other names: oxalis, sourgrass, sour trefoil, sorrel du bois



When picking from the wild it is important that you have a good field guide so you can positively identify edible wild food and avoid those which cause digestive upset, or worse, poisoning. Use three photographic references whenever possible. I use "Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) and "Edible Garden Weeds of Canada" by Szczawinski and Turner. I have others but these seem to be the most used this year.



1 cup common wood sorrel - 250 ml
2 cups boiling water - 500 ml

Steep the leaves in the boiling water for 10 minutes. I find it delicious unsweetened but you can also stir in some honey. The cold tea is lemonade-like and can be added to home-made juices and punch.

MEDICINAL USE: according to folk medicine sorrel was infused as a tea to treat kidney and liver ailments. The fresh leaf and rhizome are diuretic, laxative and antiseptic. The wood sorrels contain oxalic acid which can be troublesome in larger quantities but it is not at all dangerous in moderation.


© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com
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Sorrel & Lovage Soup with Carrot Mint Puree

This is not the prettiest looking soup but the contrast amongst the various flavours more than makes up for the appearance.

Sorrel and lovage are hardy, spring perennials and ones you can rely on to eat early. Sorrel has a unique sour taste that is refreshing in soup. If you don't have it you can still make this soup using another green like kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Lovage usually replaces celery but in smaller amounts as it has a stronger flavour.

This recipe makes 8 large servings - about 2 cups/500 ml each

1 Tbsp olive oil - 15 ml
1 onion, red, large, chopped
4 cups sorrel leaves, shredded - 1 liter
4 cups potatoes, diced - 1 liter
1/2 cup lovage, sliced (substitute celery) - 125 ml
1 bay leaf
8 cups vegetable broth, preferably home-made - 2 liters
1/2 tsp salt - 2.5 ml
1/2 tsp pepper - 2.5 ml

Carrot Mint Puree:
2 cups carrots, diced - 500 ml
2 cups vegetable broth - 500 ml
2 Tbsp garden mint, minced - 30 ml

Garnish: 1/2 cup chives, minced - 125 ml
1. Saute diced onions in olive oil over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Use a soup pot that has a lid. Then add the shredded sorrel, diced potatoes, sliced lovage and bay leaf and saute another few minutes. Add broth, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile make the carrot puree - cook diced carrots in broth in a small pot. Puree and season with finely minced gardent mint. Set aside.
3. Remove the soup from the heat and puree half of the soup. Return to heat and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you use a commercial vegetable broth you might not need the salt. Home-made is best!
4. To serve, ladel soup in bowl and place a scoop of the the carrot puree in the centre. Garnish each bowl with freshly snipped chives.

Optional additions: dill, garlic, oregano and/or rosemary. You can substitute lettuce, spinach or Swiss chard for all or some of the sorrel. Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt as a garnish.

NUTRITION FACTS: 140 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 520 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 6 g fibre, 6 g sugar, 5 g protein. %Daily Values are 180% vitamin A, 60% vitamin C, 8% iron and 15% calcium.

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
http://nancyguppy.com/