Lemon Sorrel Sauce for Fish

"Mmmm, what's this herb?" I asked the woman taking care of the ALM Organics table at the Moss Street Market last Saturday.

"It's lemon sorrel.  Try some."

"Hmm, I've never tried sorrel, never mind lemon sorrel.  But I think I have enough for today.  I'll try some next week."  I had already picked out some strange red-coloured carrots, three packets of seeds, and some teeny fingerling potatoes.

"Just tear off a bit and taste it."

"Oh, alright."  I rip off a teeny piece of leaf and chew.  "Mmm, that's really lemony!  It's like crunchy lemon juice!"

"Got everything?"  my spouse asks, sauntering up to the table.

"I'm just trying this sorrel.  It's really good!"

"Try some", says the friendly farmer woman.

He does.  "Lemony!" is the verdict.  We buy a bunch. 

Later that day, I was the lucky recipient of a bunch of halibut: one of the advantages of living where I do is the occasional free fish (if you know a fisherperson).  So I fried it up with some butter, steamed some of the potatoes and veggies, and made a very simple lemon sorrel sauce as follows:

Into a food processor, put 1 bunch of lemon sorrel, 1 crushed clove of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste), about a tablespoon of lemon juice (more if you're using regular, non-lemon sorrel), and one cup of crème frâiche. Whizz it up.

The result was a very fresh-tasting, mildly lemony sauce, which, with the addition of a little dill, would also be great on salmon.  In the photo, it looks as if I only had the sauce on my fish, but rest assured, by the end of supper my whole plate was smeared with the stuff, and it was especially good on the steamed zucchini and reddy-purply carrots. It would make a decadent potato salad too, with a bit more lemon juice and salt and dill.   

I imagine lemon sorrel could be used anywhere that regular sorrel appears in a recipe, especially given that I typically see lemon juice as another ingredient in sorrel recipes.  I will try it in a soup next. 

Thanks to Ulrike of Küchenlatein for hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week! 

Comments

[Ulrike]

Thanks for your entry, that sounds great.

[Linn]

How interesting! I have never heard of "Lemon Sorrel" before. It seems like it would go great in a creamy sauce - or why not try it out to make an interesting pesto? I wish I knew where to find some...

[Kalyn]

I haven't had lemon sorrel, but I do like regular sorrel a lot. I bet this would make a delicious sauce for fish, great idea!

[cooksforlove]

I'm quite sure there is no such thing as 'Lemon sorrel' Common sorrel or 'spinach dock' is certainly lemon flavoured, I've been growing it in my herb garden for over 30 years. The farmer at ALM farms was probably trying to help customer awareness by adding an adjective. I love it added into tossed green salads and if you like old school...its the main ingredient in one of the classic french dishes; Salmon a l'Oseille (Salmon with sorrel sauce) with vermouth, stock, shallots, cream, ciffonade of sorrel and thickened off the heat with egg yolks.