This spring sorrel soup is the perfect for the arrival of spring. It’s creamy, fresh, filling, and has loads of vitamins with the sorrel and nettle. It makes a great starter to your main dish served with some honey walnut bread and whipped butter. Garnish it with pink primrose or even dandelion tops if you have them growing in your yard.
How to Use Wood Sorrel
Wood sorrel is very high in vitamin C and iron, making it a great addition to any meal. Pick off the leaves and flowers to use in salads or soups. Toss into salads for a brightened taste and added texture, or thrown into a green juice in the morning. It also makes a beautiful garnish to any creamy soup.
What Does it Taste Like?
Wood sorrel (oxalis) has oxalic acid, giving it a tart- lemon flavor. The word oxalis literally means sour! It pairs very nicely with fish or chicken. Note- don’t eat more than a handful a day. Because of the oxalic acid, limit consumption to a handful per day. This soup is about 5 servings, so if you eat one you will be ok. However, if you have a history of kidney stones or gout, it’s best not to ingest more acid. If you are cautious drink a lot of water with it. I’ve been eating it for years and never experienced any discomfort.
How to Harvest Sorrel
Wood sorrel and clover look almost alike, therefore wood sorrel tends to get misidentified as clover. Harvest it in the morning and make sure leaves are fresh looking.
A Little Bit of History...
Wood sorrel has been eaten by humans for hundreds of years. In the book,”Handbook of Edible Weeds,” it says the Potawatomi Indians cooked it with sugar to make a dessert, the Kiowa Indian tribe chewed wood sorrel to alleviate thirst on long trips, the Algonquin Indians considered it an aphrodisiac, the Cherokee tribe consumed wood sorrel to relieve mouth sores and a sore throat, and the Iroquois Indians ate wood sorrel to help with cramps, fever and nausea.
What if I Can't Find Sorrel?
That’s ok! Substitute it for a lemon. Sorrel tastes just like it. Add enough dandelion greens, nettle, and spinach because the darker the leaf, the more nutrients it has. For a garnish, buy some micro greens or pick off little mint leaves to sprinkle across the top.
Spring Sorrel Soup
This spring soup is creamy, brightened with lemon, and has plenty of nutrients from the dandelion greens. Garnish with a pink primrose for an added touch.
- Cook Time40 min
- Serving Size5-6
For the burger
- 1/4 cup wood sorrel leaves
- 2 yellow onions
- 3 potatoes
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1/2 cup blend of nettle and spinach. If you can’t find nettle, use 1/2 cup dandelion greens
- 1.5 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup tofutti sour cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Add in oat milk if you desire more liquid
- Primroses and fresh wood sorrel, or any other edible flower for garnish
Preparing the spices
Peel potatoes and quarter them. Boil or steam them until you can prick them through with a fork. Set aside
Blanch dandelion greens to remove the bitterness. Blanch means to boil for a few minutes and immediately soak in ice water after
Chop dandelion greens and add to a sauce pan with onions, butter, and other greens you are using. Saute until onions turn translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
Add in the vegetable stock, sour cream, and potatoes, and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste
Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to pure the soup. I use my Vitamix and it works really well!
Garnish with primrose or sorrel leaves or any edible flowers you may have!
