Sorrel is a hardy perennial herb belonging to the Polygonaceae family, known for its edible, tart-tasting, arrow-shaped leaves. It is high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and is easy to grow from seed, suiting most types of soil in sun or light shade.
Chef Josh Barnes who runs ‘Chef’s Table’ restaurant, part of the 20,000-acre Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire, says “At Swinton Estate, we grow bronze sorrel in the greenhouse, where the bronze-coloured leaves stand out as a rich contrast. We forage for wood sorrel in the woods surrounding the estate. Sorrel contains oxalic acid and it this which gives the herb a characteristic, tart flavour, making it taste quite sour. In general, it’s the bitter flavour of sorrel that works best with rich ingredients and can add another level to dishes. On the flip side, sorrel needs to be balanced to avoid overpowering milder plates of food.”
1/ Add flavour to white fish or chicken
According to Josh, sorrel’s high concentration of oxalic acid brings bright acidity to any dish. “This is a herb that brings a citrussy hit to food. You can use it like a seasoning and in place of lemon juice, for example. It takes white fish like haddock, or chicken to another level.”
2/ It’s souper
Soups can be enhanced by the addition of sorrel as demonstrated by food blogger Mary Margaret Chappell from My Cancale Kitchen who blends it with onion, leek, potato and garlic. The soup has an amazing ability to remain bright green. “This is thanks to a nifty trick that calls for blending sorrel and butter into a paste that is added just before the soup is served,” she says. “The soup remains this colour even after a day in the fridge and some intense reheating.” Visit https://mycancalekitchen.com/sorrel-soup/ for the complete recipe.
3/ What a sauce
Sorrel can be mixed into sauces and dressings. Josh makes a sorrel sauce, which is poured over smoked haddock and topped with a poached egg. “The sorrel cuts through and balances the strong flavour of the fish, while eggs are a natural partner for the herb. Another interesting recipe is a sorrel ricotta, created because the high oxalic acid splits the milk,” he says.
4/ Give salads a zing
Josh Barnes says “One of the simplest ways to use sorrel is just to toss the herb leaves with radicchio in a salad of rocket and other lettuce leaves. Wood sorrel has a more sour and still lemony flavour, which makes it an ideal addition to salads. It’s a case of balancing flavours with a selection of interesting leaves.”
