Two of my favorite foods, wild salmon and sorrel, arrive in
the market at about the same time in mid-May. Along with asparagus and
strawberries, sorrel signals spring and a season of lighter fare, moving away
from wintry stews to simple, freshly cooked dishes highlighting garden produce
and fresh fish. Speckles of brilliant green dot this cream soup, thickened with
potatoes and full of the tangy, lemony flavor that sorrel imparts. Served in a
shallow bowl, a square of delicately pink roasted salmon sticks up in the
center, surrounded by a pool of the luscious green-hued soup. Serve this as a
light supper with a loaf of crusty bread or for brunch. Be on the lookout for
sorrel, even ask your produce buyer to stock it, but if it isn’t available, then
fresh watercress is an acceptable substitute.
SERVES 4 AS A LIGHT SUPPER
- 5 cups Salmon Stock
- ¾ pound red boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1 salmon fillet (about 10 ounces), skin and pin bones removed, cut into 4 equal portions, each about 2½ inches square
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 4 ounces sorrel leaves, stemmed, thick center ribs removed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 1½ tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 250°R In a heavy soup pot, bring the stock
to a boil. Add the potatoes. Lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover the
pot, and cook the potatoes until tender when pierced with a knife, about 15
minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange the salmon on a rimmed
nonstick baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rub the
salmon with a little olive oil and sprinkle each piece lightly with salt and
pepper to taste. Set aside. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade,
purée the sorrel, pulsing on and off for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and
process until the sorrel is completely pureed and blended with the butter.
Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside.
When the potatoes are tender, place the salmon in the oven and
bake until the fat between the layers begins to turn white and the fish flakes
slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. The fish will appear to be
underdone because the color is so beautifully pink and vivid, but it should be
fully cooked.
While the salmon is baking, finish the soup. Using an
immersion blender, purée the soup directly in the soup pot. Alternatively,
working in batches, purée the soup in a regular blender and then transfer the
soup back to the pot. Add the cream and stir until the soup is barely simmering.
Add the sorrel butter and stir until well combined. Add 1½ teaspoons of salt and
a few grinds of pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm until the
salmon is done.
To serve, ladle about 1¼ cups of soup into each of 4 warmed
large, shallow soup or pasta bowls. Carefully place a piece of salmon in the
center of each bowl and garnish with some minced parsley. Serve immediately.
COOK’S NOTE
This soup is best when made with salmon stock, but if you
have neither the time nor the inclination to make the stock, substitute 5 cups
offish stock, often available frozen from your fishmonger. Another option is to
use 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth and 1 cup water for the stock. Diluting the
chicken broth with water gives the soup a less “chickeny” flavor, allowing the
wonderful combination of sorrel and salmon to shine through.
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