Asparagus, Sorrel Sauce, Sorrel Oil, Parmesan

Asparagus, sorrel sauce, sorrel oil, S&P, Parmesan. 

Sorrel is the first thing to grow in my rooftop garden in the spring, together with chives. I must admit it’s a bit underused because it seems to turn brownish when cooked but I do use it fresh in salads, sauces and oils. 

I have a separate post in draft about sorrel sauce and oil so I’ll post it after this one.

For this dish steam the asparagus, or, if you prefer, roast it briefly with olive oil. 

Schmear the sauce on the plate, top with the asparagus and drizzle with a bit of the oil. Season with salt and pepper, shower with shaved Parmesan and voila, a nice asparagus dish you can use as is or pair with things like poached eggs, spring salmon, butter beans or what suits your style. 

Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over.

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Sorrel sauce and sorrel oil.

Sorrel is the first to grow in my garden in early spring and it is so vigorous I have to cut it back two or three times over the short season. It is a perennial leafy herb with tart, lemony flavour that comes from oxalic acid, which is also found in spinach and rhubarb (thank you Kathy @lick.the.plate for this discussion). I grow both green leafy sorrel and red veined sorrel. I use the green mostly, the red just fresh for salads and garnishes. I find that cooking with the green sorrel changes its colour to dull almost brownish so I tend to use it more in uncooked sauces.

Here are two I have made recently, once served to company with spring salmon (a rare occasion in my kitchen) and in the last post I served it with asparagus.

To make sorrel oil:
Blend oil with a bunch of sorrel in a blender or immersion blender. Let it macerate for a while and then strain through several layers of cheesecloth. The oil in the image was not fully strained when I took the pic. If you strain it well you get a beautiful clear green oil. 

To make the sauce, I make it aioli style:

2 yolks
1 tsp mustard
A handful of washed and dried sorrel (about 15-20 large leaves)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Use a blender (or immersion blender) to mix the eggs, mustard and lemon. Drizzle in the olive oil while the blender is running until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

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