Soupe de Oseille ~ Sorrel Soup ~

 

 Last spring, my father-in-law gave me a few sacks of washed greens .... looking a bit like spinach.  The greens were actually 'oseille' or in English, sorrel.  The only recipe I came up with last year to use the plentiful bright green tender leaves was to make a creamed-sorrel side dish for a pork roast and although it was good -- it didn't win me over to seek out these vitamin laden, slightly bitter greens again.

Until now.  Our spring here in Normandy has been intermittently chilly, rainy and absolutely unpredictable with sudden bursts of gorgeous sunshine that lasts for mere minutes on a bad day and  about and hour or two on a good one!  So yes, soup is still very much on the menu.  But my cravings for hearty thick, stewy-soups, have given way to a desire for garden-fresh and very green vividly flavored ones.

Because oseille, has a tart and snappy bite, it is parfait!  I also have a gorgeous organic basil plant that is sitting on my kitchen table and is pinched several times a day.  Eventually, (read 'could not be soon enough!') I will be pinching these things from the 'potager' that is bravely sprouting up in the raised beds we put in a few months ago.

~ Soupe de Oseille ~

2 large leeks, rinsed well and chopped

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 tsp salt

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup green peas

3-4 generous handfuls of sorrel, rinsed with stems pinched-off

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Sweat the leeks and garlic in 3 tbs. of olive oil until tender. Add salt and cubed potatoes and cover with stock.  Cook until potatoes are tender, reduce heat and add peas and about a minute later add sorrel.  Process with a stick blender until smooth, and basil and process until basil is fully combined.  Serve warm.

As soup goes this is an easy one.  It can be made 'vegetarian' and is also gluten and dairy free (bien sur!)  

It's a perfect fresh-green and comforting for those chilly spring days--or moments.....soup!

Happy chilly, rainy, sunny, windy, hail-y, sunny, warm, chilly.....rainy..... SPRING!

A bientot!