Sorrel

The first time I planted sorrel in my garden I was unaware that it was a perennial plant; in the early days of growing things in my backyard I planted experimentally, not really knowing what was supposed to go where or when. Imagine my surprise when it popped up the following spring, exactly where I planted it the year before! Now, each spring since that first year, I await the first little green and pink hued nubs of sorrel to emerge from the cool soil. For me, sorrel is an old and beloved friend that visits each year without fail, letting me know that the early growing season has arrived. 

By April I already have a vigorous bush of growing sorrel, ready to be added to salads, soups, and sauces, or popped right into the mouth of my sorrel loving gardening sidekick (also known as Ronan Also Eats). If you are not familiar with sorrel, its taste is also a surprise, for as much as it looks like a long spinach leaf, its flavour is bright, citrusy, and sour. If you love lemony flavours, you may well love sorrel! Sorrel is related to both buckwheat and rhubarb, which gives the prospective eater a bit of a clue regarding its particular flavour profile.

Sorrel has three major varieties, Broad Leaf Sorrel which I grow, French Sorrel which has smaller leaves, and Red Veined Sorrel which looks as its name suggests. Sorrel can be used in both raw and cooked preparations, although it will loose its bright green hue if cooked. Smaller, tender leaves are delightful to add to salads, slivered into thin strips on top of cooked beans, or adorning fancy toasts mounded with feta and avocado for example. Larger, less tender leaves can be added to any cooked vegetable dish that features greens and where a lemony flavour would be welcomed.

Fresh sorrel can be tricky to find in a mainstream supermarket - look for it at farmers markets or speciality vendors that feature a wider variety of fresh herbs. Sorrel seedlings can often be found at garden nurseries and they are well worth planting in any nook you might have free in your garden, or in a pot on a balcony or windowsill. My original planting of sorrel is now in its fourth year, and I literally do nothing but harvest it and occasionally water it, and it provides me with tangy greens from early spring right through until the first hard frosts of the year. Sorrel is definitely a tasty, easy, and productive addition to any of your own adventures in growing things.