My new discovery is Sorrel. Jim loves to walk around the garden and have you taste different edible leaves and the one that surprised me the most was the sorrel. It’s a broad flat leaf that looks a lot like a romaine leaf but has the smooth, heftiness that spinach has. It’s got a great crunch like spinach and a citrus taste that gives it it’s nickname: lemonade in a leaf. I was so excited to use it!
We first used it with the Falafel Burgers we served at the Farm to Table, I figured the crunch would be perfect for burgers and the lemon would be great with the hummus topping we served them with. I didn’t even get to try them all together, but others said they were good! So my next recipe was the one I found for Salmon in Sorrel Sauce. Jim and I have salmon often. I grew up with lots of Salmon from the West Coast and it is by far my favorite fish.
There are many different ways to prepare salmon, so pick your favorite. We make our salmon in the oven and prepare it by lightly oiling the salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Nothing goes better with Salmon than butter and lemon. This sauce was the perfect blend of the crunch from the herbs and sorrel, sweet of the fennel, freshness from the parsley and creamy sweetness of the cream and butter. The original recipe called for Chervil, which we aren’t growing but doing some research I read that Chervil is the perfect mix of sweet and fresh which made me think of the sweet licorice taste of fennel and the freshness of parsley.
Notes from the Farmer
The sorrel addition was made after a visit to the Paradise Lot project in Holyoke, MA. If you’re interested you can order your own Perpetual Sorrel. A few months after planting we had about a 1′ clump, and had a good amount to harvest. The plant never flowers so it has been producing leaves all through the fall. It’s so good that at the end of October I split the plant and brought half inside to see how it might do inside over winter.
This recipe made enough for about a pound and a quarter of Salmon, which Jim and I ate all of. Jim made some sweet potato fries and it was a fantastic meal. It would also be great served over brown rice, with bread, with mashed potatoes…whatever you usually like with your salmon.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Yield: Enough plus a little more for two people.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons salted butter
Prepared Salmon
2 cups fresh sorrel leaves, chopped rough
¼ cup of fennel and parsley, chopped
½ cup chives
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Roughly chop the sorrel. Chop up the chives, parsley and fennel.
When you start cooking the salmon start the sauce. In a large, wide skillet, melt the butter until it starts to toast. It should be golden brown.
Add the sorrel, parsley, fennel and chives to the butter and coat quickly. Allow them to wilt a little, and then pour in the cream. Bring to a boil and reduce just until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Serve the sauce over the salmon and prepare to fall in love!
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