Market Meals is a collaboration between Boulder Reporting Lab and the Boulder County Farmers Markets, featuring weekly seasonal recipes built around ingredients from local growers, ranchers and food producers. Find it in Nibbles every Tuesday and on Boulder Reporting Lab. Sign up to get Nibbles in your inbox.
Every week, at the end of Market Meals, we put out the call: Let us know if you’re looking for a recipe featuring a specific seasonal produce item.
When we were asked for ideas on how to use sorrel, we were immediately up for the challenge.
Sorrel is a leafy green herb with a bright, tangy, lemony flavor. It is delicious mixed into salads, used as a garnish or cooked into soups. If your garden is producing an abundance, we have a recipe that uses bunches of sorrel.
The classic use of freshly picked sorrel is in French sorrel soup, a simple dish that highlights the green’s signature tartness. It can be served warm or chilled, making it equally suited to a cool spring evening or a hot summer afternoon.
Sorrel can also be added to sauces for chicken or fish dishes, substituted for spinach in many recipes, or blended into a pesto with walnuts or pine nuts for pasta dishes.
Cream of Sorrel Soup
- About 6 cups fresh sorrel leaves, chopped
- 2 to 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow potato, chopped
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ to ½ cup heavy cream
In a food processor, blend the sorrel and butter until a paste forms. Set aside.
In a large pot, sauté the leeks in a little olive oil over medium heat until softened. Stir in the broth, potato, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer until the potato is tender.
Add the parsley and mint. Use an immersion blender or standard blender to puree until smooth. Return to the stove and reheat gently.
Whisk together the cream and egg yolks. Temper the mixture by whisking in small spoonfuls of hot soup until warmed, then slowly stir it into the pot.
Whisk in the reserved sorrel paste. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and additional herbs if desired. Serve warm or chilled.
What’s fresh this week? Farmers will be offering cherries, rhubarb, honey, turnips, radishes, Asian greens, beets, mushrooms, eggs, meats, herbs, greenhouse-grown tomatoes and cucumbers, microgreens, salad greens, green garlic and more at the Boulder and Longmont farmers markets this week.
Visiting the Markets
- 13th Street between Arapahoe Ave. and Canyon Blvd.
- 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21; 3:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, May 6-Oct. 7
- More information
- Boulder County Fairgrounds
- 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21
- More information
Have a tip or suggestion? Send your comments, questions and ideas to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
