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)
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.
