Sorrel Sauce

During the summer of 2020, the local botanical garden started a CSA that focused not only on providing members with fresh produce grown in the garden’s research area, but also on sharing knowledge about gardening in Alaska. The CSA featured highlights such as weekly produce pickups, a one-year membership to the garden, professional experience and feedback for CSA member’s home gardens, and even some seeds or starts that were not for sale to botanical garden guests outside of the CSA.

While I didn’t jump into baking my own sourdough, like many did, I was counted among those who expanded gardens and became enthralled with growing food. The information provided by the CSA, and the ability to support a well-loved local establishment during a difficult time, spurred me to sign up. In the early season, as seeds were just sprouting, emails made their way into inboxes with endless gardening information, tips, and techniques. Once there were harvestable, produce pickups began and lasted about 12 weeks, depending on how the garden was getting on. On pickup days we would receive email reminders that included information about what unearthed treasures we would obtain and ideas for recipes to use with the bounty.

Some time in the first few weeks we received sorrel. I was excited: years before, a friend of mine, who was an executive chef at the time, had told me enthusiastically of the herb and I had since been keeping my eye out at grocery stores with no luck. While picking up my share, at a distance with a mask on, I was able to chat with the gardener – who coincidentally shares a first name with said friend – and mentioned that I was glad to see sorrel that week. “Oh, do you love sorrel, too?” She asked eagerly.

We talked for a moment about the plant, how it grows, and how to care for it both in the garden and in the kitchen. I took my share home and played around with the small green leaves, firmly cementing my opinion: Sorrel is amazing.

The CSA continues today and, as the years passed, I found plant starts at greenhouses and nurseries around town. My home garden now contains not one, but two of the perennial plants. This weekend, I whipped up a simple sorrel sauce to enjoy over a pan-seared fillet of salmon, placed on a bed of barley with sautéed spinach, and all topped with a few quick-pickled radishes for a pop of acidity.

Herbaceous and with a hint of sour akin to lemon, sorrel brings brightness to dishes and pairs well with fatty, heavier foods. As more leaves pop up in my garden, I know I’ll take as much of it as I can during the short Alaska growing season.

Sorrel Sauce

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sorrel leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer.
2. In another small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the sorrel. Cook until wilted.
3. Gently stir in the heated cream, bringing the sauce to just under a simmer.
4. Add salt and pepper, to taste. If the sauce is thicker than preferred, it can be thinned with a splash of stock or dry vermouth.