Babas Best Sorrel Soup Recipes

BABA'S BEST SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Add sorrel in batches, stirring well until wilted, 5 to 8 minutes in all.
• Pour chicken stock and water into the Dutch oven. Stir in potatoes, carrot, parsley, dill, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer soup until flavors combine, about 1 hour.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender until mostly smooth before serving.

SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, without browning, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add sorrel and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir over low heat for about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Stir in boiling stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, beat yolks lightly with cream. Whisking constantly, slowly pour 1 cup hot stock mixture into egg mixture, then return back to saucepan. Do not let soup boil after egg yolks have been added or yolks will curdle.
• Stir in softened butter and serve hot with a dollop of creme fraiche and chervil. If serving the soup chilled, do not add the softened butter.

BARBARA KAFKA'S SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sorrel, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the sorrel has wilted. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. (The soup base can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated for as long as two days if the finished soup is to be served hot; if it is to be served cold, continue and then refrigerate. The finished soup improves after sitting for a day.)
• Beat the egg yolks and cream in a small bowl. Slowly ladle in some of the hot soup base, whisking constantly, until a third of it has been added. Whisking the remaining base in the saucepan, slowly pour in the egg-yolk mixture. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until it is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
• Remove from the heat. If serving hot, add salt to taste and serve immediately. If serving cold, refrigerate, whisking occasionally until it is fully chilled, to keep it smooth. If it is too thick, thin with a little milk. Add salt to taste before serving.

CHILLED SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Remove center ribs and stems from sorrel; tie ribs and stems in a bundle and wrap in cheesecloth. Chop leaves into this strips. In a 2-qt. saucepan, combine water, lemon juice, sorrel leaves and bundle of stems. Simmer for 20 minutes; discard stem bundle. , In a small bowl, beat egg yolks; add a small amount of sorrel mixture, stirring constantly. Return all to the pan. Cook and stir until soup thickens (do not boil). Cool; chill for several hours. Add salt and pepper. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and additional sorrel if desired.