 |
| Aveluk (wild sorrel) Soup |
The first leg of our trip to Armenia that year took us to London where Doug and I met Rubina Sevadjian Kingwell at the London Book Fair. They both presented their books at the Armenian Pavilion – Doug’s, “Stories MyFather Never Finished Telling Me”; Rubina’s, “In the Shadow of the Sultan”.
The three of us instantly became friends.
When I told her I couldn’t find sorrel in Florida, this dear woman shipped me a packet of sorrel seeds from England!
 |
| Our mini sorrel plant! |
Despite the fact that our sorrel was grown in a small pot, we managed to get a mini crop. We watched in amazement as the sorrel grew!
 |
| Tender sorrel leaves |
The young, tender leaves have a delicate tartness, but as the leaves get larger they become more acidic.
The recipe I made …
 |
| Spinach, Sorrel and Rice Soup |
Spinach, Sorrel and Rice Soup
bouillon to enhance the broth’s flavor, if you wish.)
Sauté the onion until it begins to soften. Add the garlic, and sauté for about
30 seconds, but don’t let the garlic burn.
 |
| Cooking in progress |
Add the broth (and bouillon, if using) and increase the
heat to medium-high, bringing it to a boil. Stir in rice, reduce heat to a
simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the rice softens. Stir in
spinach and sorrel. Add the lemon juice, if using. Season with salt and pepper,
to taste. Cook, covered, for an additional 5 minutes on a gentle boil.
 |
| Pureeing the soup in a blender |
Remove from heat and allow soup to cool for about 10
minutes. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or use an immersion
blender. You can make the soup as smooth as you like. (We like it
velvety-smooth and the rice thickens the soup ever so nicely.)
Heat soup through on medium-low heat; serve.
whole, then cook them in the oil until just browning. Add the chopped sorrel and stir. As soon as
it is wilting, add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes or so.
salt and pepper to taste.
soup, whisking all the time. It should make a ‘foam’.
much per person. I tend to serve it in a teacup.)
beuregs–you add a bit of sorrel to give the filling a lovely lemony tang. Try
it.
sorrel, you could squeeze in some lemon juice and use a few spinach leaves to
make up the quantities:
to be thickish)
mins each side. Remove and keep warm.
Add the stock and reduce by half, add the sorrel and cream, cook for 5 minutes
until thickened. Season with salt & pepper.
more sorrel.
preferably basmati.
Funny. I was just reading a recipe for schav in the New York Times. Very similar to the first recipe but uses potatoes instead of rice. Since I have some dried aveluk (mountain sorrel), I think I'm going to give your recipe a whirl, but serve it ice cold with a dollop of sour cream instead of yogurt. See how that turns out.
I saw that, too, Ara, and wondered if the NYT folks have been reading The Armenian Kitchen! Please promise you'll let me know how the chilled aveluk soup turns out.