Sorrel Stars in Russian Soup

Reader Contribution by Robin Mather
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A colleague gave me two generous fistfuls of sorrel from her garden recently.  “Oh boy,” I thought. “Schav for dinner!”

Schav is a traditional Russian-Eastern European soup of sorrel and potato, cooked in chicken broth and sometimes enriched with a beaten egg. Some versions serve the soup as prepared; others, including mine, puree the soup. It’s refreshing served cold, and heartening served hot. A dollop of sour cream atop each bowl is customary either way, although these days I’m more likely to use thick, drained Greek-style yogurt.

Eaten cold, the soup is also generally garnished with finely diced cucumber and radish.

Some recipes suggest a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to further sharpen the flavors; others suggest tempering sorrel’s citric tang with a little sugar. I skipped the lemon juice, finding the sorrel bright enough, and caramelized the chopped onion to provide a measure of sweetness to balance the soup.

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