Wild sorrel
Wild sorrel
for fish & asparagus
sgyrhusdghusjidkosp
Warmer weather calls
for lighter foods and
Philippa Vine finds
asparagus and trout are
just the ingredients to use
They fried the fish with bacon and were astonished; for no fish had ever seemed so delicious before. They did not know that the quicker a fresh fish is on the fire after he is caught, the better he is.
Mark Twains Tom Sawyer found this out but it didnt quite work out this way when Mr V returned from the local farmers market with a couple of trout off a neighbouring stall belonging to Starline Fish Farm in Edenbridge.
Not quite straight out of the river and into the pan, but I stuffed and served them with a butter sauce flavoured with vegetables and sorrel and they were delicious.
Now is the time for keeping your eyes open for young wild sorrel leaves. These sharp lemony leaves can be used as the basis for fish sauces, for adding to soups and they make a welcome and interesting addition to a salad.
For centuries, the cool, acid flavour of the leaves was familiar to farm workers who chewed them to quench their thirst in the hot harvest fields.
May brings a delicious vegetable treat in the form of home-grown asparagus. When you can get good, fresh asparagus it is best just to cook it plainly and serve with melted butter, oil or Hollandaise sauce.
The sauce recipe I use for the trout also goes well with asparagus, omitting the sorrel if you wish. One of the easiest and most simple way of cooking the delicate spears can be roasting.
If, like me, you grow your own asparagus you may want to find different ways of cooking it. And wrapping it in filo pastry to form cigars makes an excellent starter or snack.
Asparagus cigars
Makes 12
These are fun to make as a starter or elegant nibbles. The filo pastry keeps the asparagus spears moist. Filo, literally means leaf in Greece, it is paper thin pastry that could be made by hand, but it is a tricky and arduous process that produces results no better than what is commercially available in most supermarkets. It is easy to work, but it is essential to keep the thin sheets from drying out by covering with clingfilm. If youre not using the whole packet, it can safely be refrozen because theres no fat in it.
12 filo pastry squares – 15x15cm (6ins)
2-3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
25g (1oz), melted butter
Sesame seeds
Trim the asparagus to about 10 cm (4ins) in length. Keep the rest of the stalks for another use, such as the asparagus soup. Preheat oven to 200C (400F, Gas 6).
Once you have cut out 12 squares of pastry roughly 15x15cm, rewrap the remaining sheets in clingfilm and return them to the fridge or freezer. Cover the stack of 12 squares with clingfilm and cover this with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out and cracking. Beware: Do not allow the damp cloth to touch the filo, or it will dissolve into paste.
Remove one square at a time from the covered stack and brush with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with a little grated Parmesan cheese. Lay an asparagus tip along one side of each square, about 2cm (3/4 in) from the edge. Fold the 2cm filo over the spear, then fold in the two adjacent edges along their length.
Roll up spear like a neat cigar and brush the folding edge with melted butter to act like glue and keep it in place. Brush the top with a butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with the remaining ones.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning once so the pastry browns evenly.
Roasted asparagus
Serves 4
It is surprising how delicious these spears can be when roasted in a hot oven. The recipe can easily be adapted to fit the amount of asparagus you have to hand. Smaller stems will take 10 minutes and thicker ones up to 18 minutes or so.
500g (1lb) asparagus
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F, Gas 5). Snap the bottoms off the asparagus. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer in a roasting tin and generously drizzle over the olive oil and salt. Toss the spears to coat lightly with oil. Roast until tender but still slightly firm, 10-18 minutes. Test with a skewer (a couple of inches from the base of the stem). Serve immediately.
Asparagus and
sorrel soup
Serves 3
I came across this recipe when I was reading Sophie Grigsons Eat Your Greens. This is a simple, but delicious, recipe using asparagus trimmings and the water left
from cooking the asparagus.
A good substitute for the
sorrel is spinach.
175g (6oz) asparagus trimmings including stalk ends
50g (2oz) butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 handful of sorrel or spinach, shredded
1 tablespoon plain flour
500ml (1 pint) water left from cooking asparagus, or vegetable stock
50ml (2fl oz) double cream, (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the onion and garlic until tender, without browning.
Add the sorrel or spinach and stir until it collapses to a mush. Sprinkle the flour over, stir and cook for two minutes then add the asparagus water or stock.
Bring up to a boil and add the asparagus trimmings and seasoning. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree until smooth, then sieve to get rid of stringy fibres.
Just before serving stir in the cream, taste and adjust seasoning.
Trout wrapped
in bacon
Serves 4
If you are serving the sorrel sauce with the trout then prepare the sauce before starting this recipe.
4 trout or sea trout,
gutted and cleaned
12 rashers smoked
streaky bacon
225g (8oz)
spinach,
washed and
roughly chopped
1 large onion,
finely chopped
50g (2oz) butter
4 wooden cocktail sticks
Leave 8 bacon rashers whole and cut the rest into strips. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and strips of bacon and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Season with plenty of pepper.
Leave to cool off. Heat the grill or a large frying pan. Stuff the trout with the spinach mix then wrap each fish with two rashers of bacon and secure with a cocktail stick. Grill or fry the trout for 8-10 minutes, carefully
turning once.
Remove the
cocktail
sticks and
serve the
trout with
the sorrel
sauce poured
around.
Sorrel sauce
Serves 4
The herbs given are just a guide, use the ones that are growing in your garden if you wish.
125ml (4fl oz) dry white wine
150ml (5fl oz) water
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 sprigs of thyme or
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 sprigs of parsley
3 fresh sage leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
125g (41/2oz) butter,
cut into pieces
Handful of fresh sorrel, washed and shredded
Freshly ground pepper
Put the ingredients, apart
from the butter and
sorrel, in a large saucepan
and bring to the boil, then
reduce the heat and simmer,
covered, for about 35 minutes
until the vegetables are tender.
Strain through a sieve, pressing to release all of the juices. Return the liquid to the saucepan – there should be about 125ml (4 fl oz) of vegetable juices.
Over a low heat, gradually whisk in the butter and season with pepper and a little salt to taste. Stir in the sorrel, taste and keep warm until the trout is cooked and ready
to serve.