If you love tart, lemony sauces, sorrel sauce is one of the greatest renditions there is. This is a classic sorrel sauce inspired by the legendary saumon à l'oseille, a classic recipe of French Nouvelle Cuisine from the 1960's-70s.
The sauce was invented by the Troisgros brothers at their restaurant in Roanne, France. Over the years the brothers created thousands of recipes at their 3-star Michelin restaurant, but saumon à l'oseille stands apart from them all. I've adapted the original version here to be easier to make at home.
What is Sorrel Sauce?
Mostly known as a French sauce, this is a cream-based sauce with a tart, lemony flavor that's perfect for light proteins, especially fatty fish like salmon and lake trout. Besides fish, it's also incredible used to sauce potato dumplings and ravioli.
Besides the French version, there's also Jamaican sorrel sauce which is typically includes water, allspice, orange juice, and sugar. I suspect Jamaican sorrel sauce was brought from West Africa as they have traditions of cooking plants in the hibiscus family similarly, which also have a sour flavor.
Wild Sorrel
There's a number of sorrels you can use to make the sauce. Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is the most traditional, and probably the best. Sheep sorrel and wood sorrel can also be used, with sheep sorrel being my favorite between the two.
Wild sorrels like wood sorrel (genus Oxalis) and sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) can be grown easily in a garden, but be aware that the plants can be invasive as they spread by a creeping rhizome system as well as by seed. Both plants can be aggressive, sheep sorrel more than wood sorrel.
How to Make Sorrel Sauce
There's lots of versions online, mine involves making a quick reduction similar to starting a beurre blanc. It's not quite the same as the one the Jean and Pierre Troigros served, but it's so delicious no one will care.
First you reduce fish stock, fumet, or chicken stock and wine with peppercorns, a sliced shallot, a clove of garlic and a bay leaf.
When the sauce is reduced by 75%, you remove the solids and add the cream, butter and sorrel and cook until lightly thickened.
Finally the sauce is finished with fresh lemon zest and a dash of lemon juice to taste. I like to add a handful of fresh sheep sorrel at the end, but you can skip it if you use garden sorrel.
It can be served warm, or at room temperature and is incredible with fish, pork, and poultry.
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Classic French Sorrel Sauce
Equipment
- 1 small sauce pan
- 1 10 inch saute pan
Ingredients
Aromatic Reduction
- 8 oz 1 cup fish stock, fumet or chicken stock
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 small shallot thinly sliced
Sorrel Sauce
- 2 4 oz filets of salmon
- 2 oz sheep sorrel or garden sorrel this is two large handfuls
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ Cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Add the wine, stock, garlic, peppercorns and bay to a small saucepan. Reduce the wine and stock until only half remains, then fish out the ingredients with a spoon and discard. Add the cream.
- Add the sorrel and cook, stirring occasionally until wilted. Add the butter. Continue reducing until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and quickly saute the salmon if using (skin-side down if applicable) until medium rare, then transfer to a pan and keep warm until ready to plate.
- Double check the seasoning of the sauce for salt and adjust as needed, then spoon the creamed sorrel and its sauce around the fish. Garnish with a few extra sheep sorrel leaves and cut chives and serve immediately.
Suzanne
This looks so good! What a great soup to make in the springtime!
Alan Bergo
Sorrel soup is good too.
Mary
Tasted like something from a really fancy restaurant. I made it for my husband and my anniversary with perennial sorrel from my garden and I might need to make it every year now. Wow!
Alan Bergo
Thanks Mary.
Sally
It sure is 😋😋😋.
Karin
Sorry, I did find the amount of cream now. You can forget my earlier question.
Heather Wood
So very delicious. Made me think of Paul Bocuse's famous response to a question about his "high-fat" cooking: "Without cream, without butter, why come to France?"
I have a nice patch of garden sorrel, Rumex acetosa, in my backyard and in its glory season, my favorite light lunch for two is as much of it as I can get two hands around chiffonaded, "melted" in a quarter cup of butter over medium heat until wilted, and stirred into four scrambled eggs about 30 seconds before they're done. Not pretty food, sorrel turns an unattractive color as it cooks, but so tasty.
Karin
It sounds delicious! I would like to do the sauce, and wonder how much cream I should add (it is not included in the recipe).
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks that might be important. 1/2 cup is what I used but you can do up to 3/4 cup here.
Karin
I made the sauce on Lapland sorrel, found in the Swedish mountains. It was great!!!
Alan Bergo
Oh that makes me want to go back to Finland. Thanks for sharing Karin.
Cindy
Thanks so much for sending this to me after we messaged on instagram. The sauce is so good, like the ultimate lemon sauce as you said. I can't believe I made it from a plant in my yard. I used ou r keta salmon from Alaska and husband said I have to make it every year now!
Alan Bergo
Glad you liked it. I'm jealous of how much you have in your back 40 😉