Common Sorrel

Wow! What a wonderfully, flavour packed herb Common Sorrel is!

This super-delicious plant really doesn't get half the attention or culinary kudos it so rightly deserves.
Aside from it's mouth-watering, citrusy, super tart and punchy taste profile, it's easy to identify, abundant and very versatile in the kitchen, forming the base of many an amazing dish whether savoury or sweet.

Identification and Habitat:
Common Sorrel has a preference for grassy areas; meadows, waste ground, fields and gardens.
Each plant produces numerous leaves and can therefore be treated like cut and come lettuce (continuously producing leaves, except when in flower/seed stage). 

Common Sorrel (as with Sheep Sorrel) has very obvious identification features and it's wise to spend time familiarising yourself with these. One particularly stand-out feature is the distinctive 'split' located at the base of each leaf, instead of attaching to the leaf stem, it splays out, akin to a snakes tongue (see image). 

Leaves are generally longer than they are broad, more often than not culminating in a pointed or slightly rounded pointed leaf tip. Leaves vary in size, from a mere 3cm in length up to a very respectable 12cm in length. Early stage growth regardless of whether in the spring, autumn and, if mild enough, winter, is a luscious, light, bright green colour, gradually darkening with age to a much deeper green. Common sorrel isn't heavily veined and this is another important visual identification aspect. The best time for picking common sorrel is in the spring, autumn and very early winter, if weather conditions permit. Leaves can become bitter when it's flowering and turning to seed.

Hazards:
Common Sorrel is sometimes confused with a plant called Arum Lily (Arum maculatum). Arum Lily contains calcium oxalate crystals which can cause mild to serious burning sensations in the mouth and cause swelling. Once you get your eye in, it's tricky to confuse the two. This is where up to date identification books come into their own, so please do purchase a book or two. Remember it's your responsibility to know what you are eating and not anyone else.

Flavour and Uses:
Common Sorrel has a very distinct tart/sour flavour hence its common names 'sour dabs' and 'tart tongues'. Folk often describe it as having a similar taste to lemon juice, apple skin and mild vinegar. The reason behind this flavour explosion is due to the presence of a chemical compound called, oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is found in many plants including; rhubarb and spinach. Too much oxalic acid can have a detrimental effect on the body so, moderation is key: don't go snaffling tons of it day in, day out. The French have a particular affinity with Common Sorrel and apparently we derive the name from the old French 'surele' or 'sur' meaning sour.

Common Sorrel can be utilised in the following ways: 

• 
  Soup - one of my favourite wild soups, absolutely delicious!
• Sauce - excellent with fish and seafood dishes
• Salads
• Ice Cream
• Sorbet or Granita
• Sushi - especially fish themed sushi
• Vol-au-vents - go retro with a sweet, vanilla cream and cinnamon version
• Goats Cheese - use the juice to curdle
• Juice - add to drinks such as cocktails and mocktails

Sorrel Sauce - with deep fried crispy mussels and toasted nori. 

400g Common Sorrel

1 medium onion

Half glass of dry white wine or homemade apple wine

4 egg yolks

225g butter

Finely chop the onion and place in a saucepan with a touch of oil, gently saute until soft and translucent. 

Add the wine and reduce to approximately 2 tablespoons worth. 

While the wine is reducing, place the butter in another pan and gently melt it. Add half the sorrel and wilt into the butter, remove from the heat. 

Once the wine has reduced adequately, add the remaining sorrel and wilt. 

Transfer the melted butter/sorrel mix in to the same pan as the onion/wine/sorrel and using a stick blender blitz into a smooth puree. Add the egg yolks and blitz once more. Then, very gently heat the mixture, stirring continuously, ensuring not to heat too much or you'll scramble the egg yolks.

Add this sauce to accompany deep fried, crispy mussels, sprinkling some toasted porphyra onto the sauce, delicious! Or spoon some onto freshly cooked trout, salmon or hake.

Sorrel Soup 

250ml Homemade Chicken Stock 

400g Common Sorrel

1 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

100ml Double Cream (optional)

10cm piece of sugar kelp (optional)

Sea Salt and White Pepper

If using seaweed, soak it in fresh water for approx 30 mins, remove put to one side.

Place the finely chopped onion in a pan with a little oil, saute until soft and translucent. Add the grated garlic, cook for 3 mins.

Add the chicken stock and gently heat until simmering, turn off heat.

Add sorrel and seaweed, stir and, using a stick blender, blitz. 

Taste, adding seasoning if required.

Add cream, stir, serve.

This soup is amazing served on it's own with fresh crusty bread. You can also make a version of it using miso instead of chicken stock. I recently made this soup, adding a pan fried piece of hake, some dehydrated, crispy sea noodles, ramson leaf and few flowered leek pearls to garnish (see image).

Common Sorrel & Vanilla Cream Vol-au-Vents

Makes approx 14 individual pastries.

3 large handfuls of fresh sorrel leaves 

(approx 3 very large handfuls)

1 block of all butter puff pastry

250ml double cream

2-3 tbsp granulated/caster sugar

Icing sugar approx 1 level tbsp

Pinch of ground cinammon

1 egg yolk (whisked)

Good glug of organic vanilla extract

1 tsp butter

On a clean, lightly floured work surface roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of approx 1-2mm. Take a round cutter and cut out 28 discs, putting half of them on to a buttered, lightly floured baking tray. Take the remaining discs and using a smaller cutter, cut out discs to form 14 puff pastry rings. Brush the first 14 discs with the egg yolk and place the rings on top and press down lightly, brush the tops of the rings with egg yolk and put into a pre-heated oven at 200 deg/celsius for approx 10-12 mins or until golden brown, remove from oven and place on a rack to cool.

While the pastries are in the oven put a small knob of butter into a pan and add the sorrel leaves, cook over a low heat for approx 5-6 minutes, add sugar/cinnamon, stir and taste as you go. Once your taste buds are satisfied remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Put the double cream into a glass mixing bowl, add the vanilla extract, sieve in the icing sugar and whisk until mixture firms up.

To each pastry case add approx 2-3 tsp of the sorrel filling, top with the same amount of  vanilla cream, dust lightly with icing sugar and get stuck in.

Common Sorrel is a real wild food treat, it deserves much more attention, I hope you will find the time to acquaint yourselves with this delightful, mouth-watering herb. Common Sorrel also goes by the common names 'sour dabs' and 'sour tongues'.