Russian Spinach And Sorrel Soup Recipes

RUSSIAN SPINACH AND SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Wash the spinach very thoroughly, using only the crisp, fresh and tender leaves and removing all but the thinnest stalks.
• Remove the stalks from the sorrel, wash and set aside.
• 3 .Sweat the spinach in a covered saucepan for 2 minutes with a pinch of salt and no added water. Place the spinach in a sieve and refresh under running cold water; squeeze out all the moisture. Puree in the food processor.
• Sweat the finely chopped onion, carrot and parsley in the butter for 10 minutes over a low heat in a large covered saucepan, stirring at frequent intervals. Stir in the flour and continue stirring while cooking for about 30 seconds.
• Remove from the heat and pour in all the boiling stock at once; beat vigorously to prevent lumps forming.
• Stir in the pureed spinach, the bay leaf and a few whole black peppercorns, these last 2 tied in a small piece of muslin. Simmer gently for 10 minutes; shred the sorrel leaves into a chiffonade, add to the soup and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Draw aside from the heat, remove the peppercorns and add salt to taste.
• Slice the hard-boiled eggs thinly; make the smetana by mixing the stiffly beaten cream, the soured cream and a little lemon juice to taste.
• Ladle the soup into individual heated soup bowls; place 1 tbsp of the smetana in each and float the egg slices on top (one egg per serving). Serve at once.

SPINACH AND SORREL SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Make Filling:
• Cook spinach according to package instructions. Drain in a colander, then refresh under cold running water to stop the cooking, and drain well again. Transfer spinach to a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) twisting the ends together, and squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach. Transfer spinach to a large bowl.
• Cook scallions with 1/4 teaspoon salt in olive oil in a 9- to 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sorrel and cook, stirring and adding 1 tablespoon water if sorrel is dry, until wilted, about 1 minute (sorrel will turn khaki gray almost immediately when heated). Add sorrel mixture to spinach and stir well.
• Stir in yolk, then feta, nutmeg, dill, and salt and pepper to taste and combine mixture well.
• Form and Bake Phyllo Triangles:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.
• Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush all over with some butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack lengthwise into 4 strips, each about 3-inches wide and 17- inches long.
• Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Brush triangle all over with butter. Put triangle, seam side down, on parchment-lined sheet. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.
• For best results, freeze spanakopita until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.