Sorrel, Simply nutritious

Hello all. This is Carole again, with a spotlight on a delicious and nutritious addition to your garden.
Garden Sorrel is an herbaceous perennial, occasionally called spinach dock. The young leaves are tender and edible, but they do toughen with age, when they are better pureed into soups. So harvest it right away. They do have a lemony, slightly bitter taste to them, and are popular added to curries . They have been used around the world, added to spanakopita in Greece, and cooked in France with fish.
Nutritionally speaking, sorrel actually is a powerhouse. After kale, definitely a superfood. 1 cup contains only 29 calories, but has 2.6 grams of protein, along with tons of Vitamins, C, B9 and A , iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
So here’s why I grow it. I hide it in various casseroles and soups for extra nutrition, and in spring it adds some dimension to boring salads. It actually makes a good soup and it does have some history of medicinal use for inflammation of respiratory tract, a diuretic, and is in some herbal cancer treatments. But for me, the real magic in sorrel is that its wonderful for your chickens, and it makes fantastic compost.
Yes. I said it. I planted a perennial green because its an easy free nutrition boost to my compost pile. It grows in your most miserable spot with poor soil, and after you are done harvesting for soups, salads and other culinary delights, you can keep cutting the leaves and add to your compost. Plant it once, feed yourself, your chickens and your soil forever.

RECIPES
French Sorrel soup
Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of green onions, ramps or other wild onion
4-6 cups of packed chopped sorrel.
salt
3 tablespoons of flour
1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of cream
Instructions:
1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a soup pot over medium heat, and onions or ramps , turn to med/low and cover. Cook gently 10 minutes.
2. While onions are cooking, pour stock in another pot and bring to a simmer.
3. Turn the heat up and add the chopped sorrel leaves to the pot with the onions. Stir well. When sorrel is mostly wilted, turn heat back to medium low , cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Add in the flour, cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
5. Whisk in the hot stock, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer.
6. To finish, whisk together the egg yolks and cream. Temper the mixture by ladling a little of the soup into it with one hand while you whisk the egg-cream mixture with the other. ( this prevents the eggs from scrambling).
Now start whisking the soup. Pour the egg-cream mixture into the pot with the soup, whisking the entire time. ( coordination or a helper)
7. Add the final tablespoon of butter. Let this cook at just below a simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve immediately.
I love this with a nice home baked bread.