Skābeņu Zupa

About This Recipe

Skābeņu zupa (sorrel soup) marks the arrival of spring in Latvia with a vivid, deeply flavoured bowl of tangy leaves simmered in a light broth and enriched with soured cream. Sorrel — a hardy perennial herb with a sharp lemony-oxalic flavour — is one of the first plants to appear after the Baltic winter, and its arrival signals the beginning of the growing season. The soup is traditionally made with smoked pork or chicken stock and finished with a swirl of cream and a hard-boiled egg. It is one of those dishes that tastes like a specific season and cannot be replicated outside of spring.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200 gfresh sorrel leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 litrechicken or light pork stock
• 300 gwaxy potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1 mediumonion, finely diced
• 1 tbspbutter
• 150 mlsoured cream
• 2 largeeggs, hard-boiled and halved
• 1 tspsalt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 1 tbspfresh dill, chopped

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the onion

   Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.

2. 2

   Add stock and potatoes

   Pour in the stock, add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 12–15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

3. 3

   Add sorrel

   Stir in the sorrel. It will wilt and turn a dull olive-green almost immediately — this is normal. Simmer for 2–3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. 4

   Finish and serve

   Ladle into bowls. Add a generous dollop of soured cream and a halved hard-boiled egg to each bowl. Garnish with fresh dill and serve at once.

Variations

• •

  Skābeņu zupa with nettles and wild garlic

• •

  Chilled sorrel soup served as a cold starter

• •

  Cream of sorrel soup blended smooth

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 2 days. The colour will darken but the flavour remains excellent.

Frequently Asked Questions