May 25 2011
Soupe à l’Oseille
Another quick midweek thought, what with all those beautiful greens I bought over the weekend. After making those wonderful dumplings on Sunday, I still had a bunch of sorrel and watercress left. So today, because the weather was still this side of awful, I thought soup was in order.
I recently wrote about a beautiful green soup, and this one is equally beautiful and green, but tastes nothing like potage St. Germain. Soupe à l’oseille is sorrel soup, and is a fairly standard dish to be making in France when sorrel is at its peak (spring) and the skies are still prone to holding back on the promise of summer. All you need are a couple of potatoes, an onion, some milk, and you’re in business. Sorrel is a lovely, acidic-tasting leaf, which is most often served in soups or sauces, or as a stuffing for salmon (another spectacular, classic French dish). If you’ve never had any before, try some, I promise you won’t regret it. Sorrel rules.
I’m not the only one to think so; I’m pretty sure these guys would agree with me:
Soupe à l’oseille
(Sorrel Soup)
4 cups washed, stemmed and chopped sorrel
2 medium potatoes (e.g. Yukon Gold)
1 onion
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups broth
1 cup milk or half & half
salt and pepper to taste
Melt oil and butter in Dutch oven. Coarsely chop potatoes and onion and sauté until tender, about 10-12 min. Add sorrel and cook until wilted, about 2 min. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook about 10 min. Remove from heat and let cool about 20 min. Pour in blender, or use an immersion blender, and process until smooth. Return to pot and add milk. Reheat gently, taking care not to boil the soup. Serve immediately, with croutons and a dollop of crème fraîche, if desired. You can also serve this soup cold, in which case you should make it the day before and chill thoroughly before serving.
Leaves and Roots
Hot Potato
Prêt à Manger
I served Pasta Putanesca as the main course, and a salad of beets, chickpeas and radish sprouts, lightly dressed with apple cider vinegar, walnut oil and fleur de sel. Not too shabby.
Eat your colors, I always say.
