Sorrel Pesto

Sorrel Sauce/Gravy/Pesto/Dip

This is probably more of a Sorrel Sauce, which doesn't sound good. For whatever reason we don't seem to have very many words for 'sauce' in the English language. Sauce, condiment, gravy, dressing.

Anyhow, we'll call this one a pesto for lack of a better name.

Firstly, you may be asking yourself - what is sorrel? Sorrel is an herb! You've probably seen sorrel and just didn't know what it was. It's very hardy, drought tolerant and is a bit weedy (if you or your neighbor has planted some sorrel - you probably have more sorrel than you want). When sorrel is young (late winter/early spring) you can harvest the tender leaves and use them in a salad mix. But this year in eastern WA, sorrel matured quickly and mine bolted weeks ago. Once it bolts the leaves are tough, big and rough, and not fun to chew, even when chopped.

Rachel's bolted sorrel leaves

But mature leaves are still tasty and useful. You can cook them, add them to soups and stews, or blend them up like in this recipe.

Before I continue, I should probably explain why you'd even want to use sorrel.

Firstly, it tastes great! It's like biting into a combination of lemon, spinach, and granny smith . A bit of fresh green and a tangy citrus tartness, with a surprising .sweetness (not sugar sweet - but not bitter like other leafy greens can be). It's an easy way to liven up a salad, or turn a soup a bit sour (in a good way).

Secondly, you can do a lot with it. Eat it fresh, cook it, blend it, mix it into things (especially if you need a citrus note and are out of actual citrus.

Thirdly, for some reason sorrel never seems to make the 'super foods' list (probably because it's not something you see in most grocery stores), but it very much is a very nutrient-dense food. A serving gives you a decent amount of fiber, surprising amount of protein (up to 4 grams), over 100% of your daily Vitamin A needs, and also includes a lot of Vitamin C, Magnesium, Potassium, and Iron!

Finally, if you have space in your garden or yard, even though it's weedy, highly recommend in planting some. It's VERY easy to grow and it gives you a lot of food for very little expenditure. I have a patch (and many more patches that i have to pull out) that is often the very first thing I'm picking in late winter, or the very last thing I'm picking in early winter to add to soups, stews and other dishes that make me thing of warmer weather. Adding a leaf here and there to different dishes is so common for me, I forget how much I use it.

So if you have a friend or family member who has sorrel - ask them for some (i'm sure they're happy to give it to you!) and make this wonderful pesto. Because of that tart-lemony flavor it's super unique, very tasty and very lively and refreshing.

I use this on many different things, but especially enjoy it a schmear for any of our seafood tins. It's great on sandwiches, can be thinned down with extra olive oil and some vinegar for a dressing, would be great mixed into chicken salad or tuna sandos. Finally, it's great as a dip - whenever I have it out at work for our staff they're often just grabbing bread or crackers to dip in it.

Recipe is very loose, so use your best judgement

all ingredients prior to blending

Ingredients:

• Good handful of Sorrel leaves - about a cup, roughly chopped. Can use young tender leaves, but i used old tough leaves (good use for them) - clean and remove fiburus vein if older leaves.

• Handful of other herbs if you wish - I used taragon (just a few large stems) and chives (also just a small bunch), but you can also use a good handful of parsley or cilantro; these bright herbs help cut the super tangy sorrel. Not needed, but play around to see what flavors you enjoy

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

• 1/4 cup almonds, pine nuts, cashews, or pumpkin seeds (your choice)

• Olive oil OR Sour cream/Yogurt*

Method:

Place washed and prepped herbs in a food processor or high speed blender along with your garlic, nuts, and salt and pulse until everything is finely chopped.

At this point you have a choice to make. Keep it vegan and more true to a 'pesto' - and if that's the case. Add some high quality Olive Oil until you have a good pesto-sauce consistency. You can use this like you would a regular pesto with pasta, cooked potatoes - or also would be great as I mentioned above (for sandwiches, tinned fish condiment, etc). But will note this is a very strong tasting pesto - a little goes a long way.

If you're not vegan and are wanting something a bit more mild - then proceed to adding some sour cream or yogurt (and if you are vegan you can add tofu/nooch and you've got yourself a great creamy version or, of course can use vegan sour cream, mayo, or yogurt*).

Our favorite sou

r cream is El Mexicano crema Oaxaqueña. It's just delicous. I begin by adding about 1/4 cup and increase by taste for what I'm looking for.

And you can play from here. Sometimes it's fun to add some jalepeno pepper, play around with the herbs of course (mint is not out of the question). You can add more garlic, but beyond 1 clove of garlic the 'spicy' note of raw garlic comes out. If you like that, cool. If you want to avoid that, you can quick roast some garlic cloves in olive oil and when cool, add to your pesto.

Cheers and enjoy!

*do want to make a note on the yogurt. If you're looking for a healthier version, i would actually suggest trying my vegan suggestion of soft tofu and some nutirential yeast over yogurt. Yogurt is so tangy and the sorrel is super tangy - the whole reason to add some dairy is to cut that tang a bit and give pure richness. Another alternative would be some fresh sheep or goat cheese, or cream cheese - this will be more of a spread, instead of sauce.