Creamy Sorrel Soup

I promised the first new vegetables of the spring in my next recipe, and here they are! It's official! Spring and a new season are here.

You will be lucky to find leeks, but there may be some at the farmers markets. That's what I  used; but they come from my garden and I don't mind that at this time of year they need a fair bit of trimming. I would think shallots would work fine too. The green onions were walking onions, but welsh onions would also work, and I suppose if you could get your hands on them wild leeks (ramps) would be an excellent choice as well.

The butter, red lentils and yogurt make this soup seem quite creamy without the use of any actual cream, and the sorrel and yogurt give it a lovely delicate sour tang. We enjoyed this very much.

4 servings
40 minutes - 20 minutes prep time

2 small leeks
OR 4 to 5 shallots
3 or 4 green onions
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup red lentils

2 cups chicken stock
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups loosely packed sorrel leaves
1/2 cup thick yogurt

Wash and trim the leeks or shallots, and chop them finely.

Heat the butter gently in a heavy-bottomed soup pot, and cook the leeks or shallots until softened and reduced, but not browned. Add the lentils and chicken stock.  Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind how much, if any, salt is in the chicken stock. If there is none, I suggest about 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Simmer the soup, with the lid on, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the lentils are quite soft. Stir regularly. This can be done in advance, if you want. The soup can then be puréed, if you want as well, although I didn't bother. It's fine with a bit of texture.

Wash, trim, and chop the green onions. Add them to the hot soup. Wash the sorrel leaves, and remove any tough stems or other undesirable bits (such as snails... yeah, they're already at it). Chop it finely, and add it to the hot soup along with the yogurt. Stir well, while the sorrel wilts and cooks, but do not let the soup boil again - just get it steaming hot. I suppose you could purée it at this point too, if you wanted a very smooth puréed soup. I liked the little bits of green though, even though the sorrel quickly turns brownish.





Last year at this time, I had just had my gall bladder removed, and my life was about to go completely to pot, although I didn't know it yet... how quickly time flies. I guess.

Posted in: Ontario Food