Spring

Creamed Sorrel

May  8, 2011
4.7
3 Ratings
  • Serves 4 as a side
Author Notes

This recipe is the result of a happy accident born out of living in a country where I don't speak the language. Ok, I speak a little Hebrew but sorrel isn't in my vocabulary yet. In an attempt to make my husband a steakhouse-style dinner for his birthday, I purchased what I thought might possibly be spinach to make creamed spinach.

I had a feeling it wasn’t spinach, but the tightly sealed package was the closest looking leafy green in the market. As soon as I tried it at home the citrusy bite gave it away. A quick Google translate check of the label confirmed that it was indeed sorrel.

I wasn’t disappointed; it was in fact a happy accident. Even in New York you can’t find sorrel in any old supermarket. I prepared it exactly as I would creamed spinach, and the bright acidity played nicely with the cream and butter. I would take this over traditional creamed spinach any day. - kmartinelli —kmartinelli

Test Kitchen Notes

If you can get your hands on 2 pounds of sorrel at a reasonable price, buy it fast! Relish it! We certainly couldn't. The only sorrel I was able to find came sold in 2 oz. bundles at a rather steep cost, so I wound up making this dish with mostly baby spinach and a couple of bunches of sorrel thrown in. However, even a bit of sorrel did bring some distinct freshness and tang that you don't normally find in creamed spinach. Overall, I liked the simplicity of this dish. No frills, just cream and greens with some garlic and shallot added for a mellow punch of flavor. Two pounds of sorrel (or spinach) is a lot, so I wound up erring on the larger quantity of cream side of the spectrum. Even so, because this dish doesn't use any flour, the cream just lightly clings to the leaves making it feel lighter than it might otherwise. And it leaves tasty little puddles of cream on your plate for mopping up with a dinner roll. - fiveandspice —fiveandspice

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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds sorrel, stems removed
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cups finely chopped shallots
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • ½ to 1 cups heavy cream
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, quickly add the sorrel and remove after 30 seconds or so. Transfer to a colander and shock with cold water. Squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Roughly chop and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in a pan and add the shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft. Add the sorrel and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add ½ cup of the cream and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine, adding more cream as necessary.
  4. Cook until the cream has reduced by half and remove from the heat.

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A native New Yorker, I recently moved to Be'er Sheva, Israel with my husband while he completes medical school. I am a freelance food and travel writer and photographer who is always hungry and reads cookbooks in bed.

6 Reviews

epicharis May 27, 2019
A wonderful way to use the sorrel in your CSA - but that much cream and butter is practically cheating, no? Save this one as a nice springtime side.
nicole January 6, 2014
Plenty of sorrel (lepjete) here in Albania, and my husband won't touch spinach, so I tried your recipe. It was fantastic: he loved it, and I satisfied my 'creamed spinach' craving! Added a few dashes of white pepper and nutmeg at the end..yummy!
kmartinelli May 27, 2011
Thank you so much fiveandspice for your testing notes and for ep! Honored. Great idea to mix it with spinach for those who can't find bulk sorrel, haha.
gingerroot May 9, 2011
Happy accident indeed! This sounds delicious, and I hope to find sorrel to try it.
Midge May 8, 2011
Sounds really delicious.
kmartinelli May 9, 2011
Thanks Midge!