Sorrel is always a bit of a problem veggie for me. Although I love its nutritional profile and flavor, I hate the brown color it turns when cooked. So I decided to try making sorrel pesto. I worked off the recipe below I found at recipesource.com, but I made a few changes. I used basil because I didn't have parsley and added the juice from a small lemon.
The pesto tastes more tart than my typical basil version, but it's a nice change. Plus the color is beautiful, duplicating the green of the fresh leaves. I've tossed it with pasta and used it as a sauce for white fish. Delicious!
Typically, sorrel shows up in the spring, but I had the green in the last few weeks of my CSA. Hopefully, it will stick around until cold weather.
Sorrel Pesto
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh sorrel, ribs removed 1/3 cup packed fresh parsley leaves 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup olive oil
In a food processor or blender puree the sorrel, the parsley, the garlic, the parmesan, the pine nuts and the oil, transfer the pesto to a jar with a tight fitting lid and chill it, covered. The pesto keeps, covered and chilled, for 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.
To use the pesto: For every pound of dried pasta cooking in a kettle of boiling water, stir together in a heated serving bowl 3/4 cup of the pesto and 2/3 cup of the hot cooking water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it in a colander, add it to the pesto mixture, and toss the mixture until the pasta is coated well. Vermicelli works very well with this recipe.
