Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Aromatics & Base
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 50 ml dry white wine
Greens
- 100 g fresh sorrel leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 50 g baby spinach, roughly chopped
Finish
- 150 ml heavy cream, room temperature
- 3 g kosher salt
- 1 g white pepper, finely ground
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 139 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 3 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 209 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 39 mg
- Potassium
- 100 mg
- Calcium
- 40 mg
- Iron
- 0.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 11 mg
- Phosphorus
- 26 mg
- Zinc
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 376 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 11 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 41 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.02 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.07 mg
- Niacin
- 0.1 mg
- Folate
- 20 mcg
- Water
- 35 g
- Alcohol
- 1 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Melt the unsalted butter in a stainless steel saucepan over medium heat, approximately 150°C/300°F. Add the minced shallot and sweat until translucent and fragrant, taking care not to brown them.
Add the chopped sorrel and baby spinach to the saucepan. Stir continuously. The sorrel will rapidly melt down and change from bright green to a muddy olive color, while the spinach retains its green hue. Cook until all the greens are completely wilted.
Pour in the dry white wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up any fond from the bottom. Allow the wine to rapidly simmer and reduce until it is almost entirely evaporated and the pan is nearly dry.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour in the heavy cream and stir gently. Bring the sauce to a bare simmer around 85°C/185°F and let it cook gently until it thickens slightly and can coat the back of a spoon.
Remove the pan from the heat. Season with kosher salt and white pepper. For a rustic texture, serve as is. For a refined, silky presentation, process the sauce briefly with an immersion blender until smooth.
Chef's Notes
- Sorrel loses its vibrant green color almost immediately upon heating, turning a brownish-olive. This is completely normal and chemically unavoidable due to its high acid content. The addition of fresh spinach helps retain some green color while mellowing the intense tartness.
- Avoid using an aluminum pan at all costs; the oxalic acid in sorrel will react strongly, giving the sauce an unpleasant metallic taste and potentially discoloring your pan.
- If you prefer a truly refined, restaurant-quality presentation, press the finished, blended sauce through a fine-mesh sieve (chinois) before serving to remove any fibrous bits of stem or leaf.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed directly to the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
Reheating: Warm gently over low heat, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil.
Troubleshooting
The sauce looks curdled or grainy
Cause: The high acidity of the sorrel caused the cream to break, likely exacerbated by boiling the cream too vigorously.
Fix: Remove from heat immediately. Whisk in 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold heavy cream or a teaspoon of cold water rapidly to re-emulsify. Alternatively, blend it aggressively with an immersion blender.
Prevention: Ensure you are using heavy cream with at least 35 percent fat, which resists splitting, and never let the sauce exceed a gentle simmer.
Sauce has a harsh metallic taste and the pan is discolored
Cause: An aluminum or unlined copper pan was used. The oxalic acid in the sorrel reacted chemically with the reactive metal.
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Always use non-reactive cookware such as stainless steel or enameled cast iron when cooking highly acidic ingredients like sorrel.
Cultural Context
Sauce à l'oseille is a cornerstone of classic French springtime cooking. Popularized globally by the Troisgros brothers in the 1960s with their iconic Salmon with Sorrel Sauce, it perfectly captures the transition of seasons by contrasting the bright, lemony bite of early spring greens against the luxurious, comforting richness of heavy cream.
