Finally, it’s Sorrel season!
Sorrel is a versatile plant that is really well suited to salads. It reminds me of a granny smith apple but with a more lemony flavor. It’s packed with vitamin C and has a unique and tangy flavor profile that lends itself well to salads. You can use it as the main ingredient to make a Sorrel salad or mix it with other leafy greens, as I’ve done in this recipe.
I used Wood Sorrel for this recipe because I think it looks really beautiful in a salad. But you can also use Common Sorrel! I'll share some tips below to help you identify sorrel if you're foraging your own. But if you can't find any Sorrel to pick, check out your local farmers market or ask in your local Facebook group if someone has seen it growing somewhere.
I’ll also share some delicious variations to try, like this Sorrel Salad Recipe with butter-fried nectarines and creamy blue cheese!
SIMPLE SORREL SALAD INGREDIENTS
Sorrel – 1-2 large handfuls – you can use Wood Sorrel or Common Sorrel or any variety you can find.
Iceberg lettuce – 1/2 a small head
Croutons – 100g – sourdough croutons add alot of flavor and texture to this salad, but any croutons will work!
Toasted Sunflower seeds 100g/ 1/2 cup
Balsamic Vinegar – 2 tbsp. You can also use apple cider vinager or white vinager.
Goats Cheese – 100g
Olive oil – 4 tbsp
Mustard – 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard or wholegrain mustard adds the best flavor.
Pinch of salt
METHOD
1. Sort through the sorrel to remove any dry or damaged leaves or roots.
You can choose to leave the stalks to remove them.
Don’t worry if there are some brown spots on the sorrel leaves; this can occur in a dry season.
Rinse the sorrel thoroughly in cold water and shake off any excess water.
Pat the leaves dry with a clean towel or a few layers of paper towels.
2. Rinse and roughly chop the iceberg lettuce.
3. Add the sunflower seeds to a frying pan and toast gently over a medium heat until they begin to brown. You will need to stir them often.
4. To make the mustard vinaigrette, simply combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk.
5. Place the lettuce in a large mixing bowl or salad bowl together with the Sorrel leaves and mix thoroughly with the dressing. Sprinkle over the croutons, toasted sunflower seeds, and chunks of goat’s cheese.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
This dish is a great meal on its own or served with a side of homemade garlic bread.
VARIATIONS TO TRY
This is a really versatile recipe, so feel free to swap out ingredients depending on your preferences and what’s in season! Here are a few suggestions below.
Pomegranate seeds are a festive addition to this salad, adding color and a crunch.
Smoked salmon makes a great substitute for goats cheese and makes a more filling and protein-rich meal.
I have heard that Sorrel is a great complement to oily fish such as smoked mackerel and sardines.
If you would like a more filling salad that’s great to serve at a bbq, add boiled, chopped, and cooled potatoes together with sour cream to make a really beautiful and fresh potato salad.
SORREL SALAD WITH BUTTER FRIED NECTARIES AND CREAMY BLUE CHEESE
This is a simple and fresh Sorrel salad that balances the sourness of the Sorrel with creamy blue cheese and sweet nectarines, pan-fried in a little bit of butter. Toasted sunflower seeds add texture, and a simple dash of olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar make a delicious and easy dressing to round off this salad. This is a really beautiful salad to serve as a side dish or as a lunch with homemade garlic bread.
INGREDIENTS
Wood Sorrel – 1-2 large handfuls – you can also Common Sorrel or any variety you can find.
Iceberg lettuce – 1/2 a small head
Nectarine – 1 large – other suitable fruits include pear, peach, apple and mango
Butter – 1-2 tablespoons
Blue cheese – 150g/ 5oz – other suitable cheeses include feta and parmesan
Toasted Sunflower seeds 100g/ 1/2 cup
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil
How to make this salad
- Start by slicing the fruit into thin wedges.
Preheat a pan over a medium – high heat and add the butter to the pan.
Place the nectarine wedges in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping over each wedge. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until they are slightly softened and have a little color.
4. Place the still-warm nectarine slices on top of the salad and sprinkle the toasted sunflower seeds over the salad.
Use your hands to break the cheese into smaller pieces, or use a sharp knife to cut cubes.
Sprinkle the cheese over the salad.
Top with a generous splash of olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
If blue cheese isn’t your thing, you can easily substitute it with creamy goat cheese, feta, or parmesan!
Common Sorrel
Common Sorrel grows in meadows, on roadsides, and on the edges of forests. I often see it in very early spring when I’m picking stinging nettles. The leaves are light green and pointy. As summer approaches, you will often see tall spikes of green and red flowers, which then turn into green seed pods.
Wood Sorrel
Other sorrel varieties include ‘Wood Sorrel,’ which can be both green or a dark reddish-purple color. It has an entirely different leaf structure than Common Sorrel and is shamrock-shaped
I’ve found Wood Sorrel in so many different growing environments that I think it’s safe to say it’s a very resilient and quite common plant. They often have flowers, depending on the time of year, and they can vary in size depending on the growing conditions. Flowers can be yellow, purple, or white. The whole plant, including the flowers, is edible!
Both varieties taste pretty much the same, a little like the skins of young grapes; they are tart but not in an unpleasant way. And when I pick them, I usually grab large handfuls and pull the stalks, leaving the roots.
Common Wood sorrel edible, but it does contain high levels of oxalates, so if you are sensitive to these compounds, I recommend that you try to source French Sorrel. Oxalates are what give sorrel its sour, tangy flavor. If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, or other kidney problems such as kidney stones,it is best to avoid foods with high oxalic acid content. Otherwise, the general rule is not to eat large amounts too often if you know that you are sensitive. The same goes for large quantities of leafy greens like chard, spinach, and even rhubarb and beetroot.
Common Yellow Oxalis (Oxalis Stricta, also called common yellow woodsorrel and not to be confused with common sorrel -Rumex acetosa ) and Red clover(Trifolium pratense Fabales) or White Clover(Trifolium repens) can seem like very similar-looking plants if you stumble across them when they young plants and not in flower. Though clover is also edible, they are completely different species of plants and taste very different. I’ll try to highlight the main differences below and hope that it helps you to identify them.
Wood Sorrel
Is a wild plant that has three heart-shaped leaves but has a notch at the base that creates a sharp angle between the two bottom lobes.
Wood Sorrel can ‘fold in’ its leaves and close its flowers depending on the time of day and if it is particularly dry.
Yellow Wood Sorrel has small yellow five-petalled flowers. They tend to be bright yellow flowers, but some species of wood sorrel,, like Violet Wood Sorrel (Oxalis violacea ) have pink flowers, and Oxalis Acetosella has white flowers. Yellow flowers are the most common.
Clover
Clover leaves have trifoliate leaves that are smooth and don’t have any angles at the base.
Clovers occasionally have four leaflets instead of the usual three. These four-leaf clovers, like other rarities, are considered lucky.[3] Clovers can also have five, six, or more leaflets, but these are rarer still
Clover Leaves are smooth or slightly toothed and often have white markings.
It can have white, pink, or purple flowers that are like round balls made up of many tiny flowers.
Clover is considered a perennial weed and can be found in many different types of environments, including fields, pastures, lawns, waste areas, and meadows. It is a hardy plant that can tolerate a range of growing conditions, including full sun to partial shade,, and a range of soil types. It’s often found together with other common weeds like dandelions and stinging nettles.
Sheep tend to love clover, and it’s therefore sometimes also called sheep’s clover.
Both species are edible but very different plants. If you are unsure whether you have found a patch of common clover or a wood sorrel species, I suggest that you taste a little of one of the leaves or stalks. It should have a distinctive tangy flavor!
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Sorrel Salad Recipe With Lettuce And Creamy Blue Cheese
Tangy Sorrel combines combines with crunchy iceberg lettuce and creamy blue cheese to make a beautiful spring salad for any occasion!
Ingredients
- Wood Sorrel – 1-2 large handfuls
- Iceberg lettuce – 1/2 a small head
- Nectarine – 1 large
- Butter – 1-2 tablespoons
- Blue cheese of choice – 150g/ 5oz
- Toasted Sunflower seeds 100g/ 1/2 cup
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Olive oil
Instructions
1.Start by slicing the nectarine into thin wedges. Preheat a pan over a medium – high heat and add the butter to the pan. Place the nectarine wedges in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping over each wedge. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until they are slightly softened and have a little color.
2. Sort through the sorrel to remove any dry or damaged leaves or roots. You can choose to leave the stalks to remove them. Dont worry if there are some brown spots on the sorrel leaves, this canoccur if it has been a dry season. Rinse the sorrel thoroughly in cold water and shake off any excess water. Pat the leaves dry with a clean towel or a few layers of paper towels.
3.Rinse and roughly chop the iceberg lettuce.. Place in a large mixing bowl or salad bowl. Add the Sorrel leaves and mix thoroughly.
4. Place the still-warm nectarine slices on top of the salad and sprinkle the toasted sunflower seeds over the salad. Use your hands to break the cheese into smaller pieces, or use a sharp knife to cut cubes. Sprinkle the cheese over the salad. Top with a generous splash of olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
This dish makes a great side-salad or as a meal on its own, served with a side of homemade garlic bread.
Notes
This is a really versatile recipe so feel free to swap out ingredients depending on your prefernces and mood. Here are a few suggestions below.
You can use Common Sorrel ( Rumex acetosa ) in place of Wood Sorrel for this salad. Just remove the tough stalk and slice the leaves into thin ribbons.
Pear or peach also works are delicious substitues for nectarine in this sorrel recipe. I just happened to have a tonne of nectarines.
Pomegranate seeds are a festive addition to this salad, adding color and a crunch.
Goats cheese makes a great substitute for blue cheese.
I’m not a big fish eater, but I have heard that this Sorrel is a great compliment to oily fish such as mackerel and sardines. Why not try swapping out the nectarine and blue cheese for some smoked mackerel for a protein-rich meal?
If you would like a more filling salad that’s great to serve at a bbq, add boiled, chopped, and cooled potatoes together with sour cream to make a really beautiful and fresh potato salad.
A simple mustard vinaigrette can give this salad an extra kick. In a small bowl, 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tsp wholegrain mustard. Add a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk.
Yum! I think it’s safe to say that wood sorrel is my favorite spring green!