Sorrel is another plant that will be sold at the Herb Society Plant Sale on the 21st of April at the Sports Arena at the Fairgrounds in Nashville.

See http://www.herbsocietynashville.org/events_open_to_the_public.htm

for detailed information about the Plant Sale.

 

SORREL (Rumex acetosa)

Common name: garden sorrel

 

Sorrel is the best kept secret in town! Once you have tried growing sorrel you will never stop. It is truly one of the easiest, most forgiving herbs to grow. It is a perennial herb that is hardy from zones 3-9. It likes partial shade but can be grown in a sheltered sunny spot. It can get up to 2-3 feet tall. You can grow it in the garden or in a pot on your patio.

 

Sorrel was once a common ingredient in soups, stews, salads, and sauces and then it vanished for hundreds of years. It's back! It hasn't become the trendy restaurant herb as yet, but look out, you might be seeing it on menus soon.

 

Garden sorrel has long, arrow-shaped leaves and a tart, lemony flavor. Europeans grew and used garden sorrel for years until the milder, round-leaved variety known as French sorrel (Rumex scutatus) was developed in Italy and France during the Middle Ages. By the 17th century, French sorrel was the preferred variety. Sorrel frequently appears in Medieval cookbooks because it was a common ingredient in "fasting day soup" which could be eaten on "fasting days" when no meat was allowed by the church.  

 

Don't confuse the garden and French varieties of sorrel with Jamaican sorrel (a species of hibiscus), which is dried and used in flavoring drinks. They are not similar at all.

 

Sorrel is rich in vitamin C but it also contains oxalic acid, so if you have arthritis or are prone to kidney stones, be careful because it can aggravate these conditions.

 

How do you grow sorrel? You can sow the seeds directly in the ground either in the spring after the danger of frost has passed or in the fall two weeks before the first frost date.  It likes moist, rich soil with iron. The seeds take about 7-10 days to germinate. When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, thin them.  Instead of planting the seeds, however, you can purchase the plants from us at our plant sale on April 21^st at the Tennessee State Fair Grounds here in Nashville. You will want to get several plants because most sorrel recipes call for quite a lot. When planting in the garden, place them about 12-18 inches apart. Divide and replant every 5 years in the fall. Garden sorrel is frost hardy, but the French sorrel is not. French sorrel is hardy only from zones 6-10. We will be selling the garden sorrel variety at the plant sale.

 

Harvest the young leaves often in the spring and fall, and use them in salads and on sandwiches as a substitute for lettuce or spinach. Nothing dresses up a BLT or chicken salad sandwich like a few sorrel leaves. Use the larger, tougher leaves in soups, sauces, and pestos. Don't let your sorrel flower or set seeds. In the really hot summer time your sorrel will fade, but once it cools down it will be back. Watch out for snails; they really like sorrel.

 

You will love cooking with sorrel, but you might want to try using the juice from the leaves to bleach rust, mold, and ink stains from linen, wicker, and silver.

 

To preserve sorrel either chop it up, add a little water, and freeze it in ice cube trays or make a pesto out of it. Don't try to dry it because it loses its flavor when it is dried.

 

On to the recipes! You will want to use the leaves of sorrel. The average amount of chopped leaves for six servings is ½ cup. It goes well with fish (especially salmon), shellfish, salads, eggs, spinach, and other greens. Sorrel's best herbal partners are dill, chives, lemon verbena, lemon thyme, lovage, mint, parsley, and tarragon.

 

 

Smoked Salmon Benedict with Sorrel Sauce

from The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld

 

serves 4

 

4 English muffins split (toasted)

8 large eggs (poached)

8 wide slices of cold-smoked salmon, at room temperature

Snipped fresh chives

 

 

Sauce:

2T unsalted butter

3T finely chopped shallot

8 oz. sorrel leaves (stems removed and coarsely chopped)

¼ Cup heavy cream

¼ tsp. salt

Freshly ground pepper

 

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until soft. Add half the sorrel and stir until wilted. Add remaining sorrel and cook until it is melted into a puree, 2-3 min. Stir in cream and salt. Season with ground pepper.

 

Assembly:

Arrange 2 of the toasted English muffins halves on each of the 4 warmed plates. Place a poached egg on each muffin. Arrange smoked salmon slices on each egg. Reheat the sorrel sauce and pour over the salmon and egg muffins. Sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Sorrel Vichyssoise

The Best of Gourmet 1993 Edition from The Editors of Gourmet

 

serves 6-8

 

1 Cup finely chopped leeks (white and pale green parts)

½ Cup finely chopped onion

2T unsalted butter

Salt and ground pepper

1 lb. boiling potatoes (peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces)

4 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups water

½ lb. fresh sorrel, stems removed and coarsely shredded

½ Cup heavy cream

¼ Cup snipped fresh chives (additional for garnish)

 

In large saucepan cook leeks and onion in butter with salt and pepper over low heat until soft. Add potatoes, broth, and water. Cover and simmer for 10-15 min., or until potatoes are very tender. Stir in sorrel and simmer for 1 minute. Puree mixture in blender and let cool. Stir in cream and chives.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Chill soup (covered) for at least four hours or overnight.  Serve sprinkled with additional chives.

 

 

Enjoy these recipes and HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE PLANT SALE!

 

Information from:

www.herbcompanion.com

The Herbfarm Cookbook, 2000, by Jerry Traunfeld

The Complete Book of Herbs, A practical guide to growing & using herbs, 1988, by Lesley Bremness