Latvian Sorrel Soup (Skābeņu zupa)
Overview
Skābeņu zupa is a sour, green Latvian soup made with fresh sorrel. Potatoes, carrot and onion are boiled in a light stock, often flavoured with a piece of smoked pork or bacon. Plenty of chopped sorrel leaves are added near the end, and they quickly lose their bright colour and turn the soup olive green and pleasantly sharp. Each bowl is served with half or chopped hard-boiled egg and a large spoon of sour cream, which softens the acidity. It is eaten hot, but in summer many families also eat it cold, and some add pearl barley.
History
Sorrel grows wild in Latvian meadows and is one of the first green leaves of spring, so sorrel soup is a seasonal dish that marks the start of summer. It has been cooked in Latvian farmhouses for generations, and gardeners grow sorrel to make it through the summer. Similar sorrel soups are made in Lithuania, Poland and Russia, but the Latvian version is known for its smoked meat and sour cream.
Main ingredients
Sorrel, potatoes, carrot, boiled eggs, sour cream, smoked pork. The soup is built on meat or vegetable stock and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Pork soups · Potato soups · Egg soups · Spinach and greens soups
Recipe
Method
- 115 min
Simmer the smoked pork in the water for 15 minutes.
- 215 min
Add the potatoes, carrot and onion and cook for 15 minutes.
- 33 min
Stir in the sorrel and cook for 3 minutes.
- 4
Season and serve with boiled egg, sour cream and dill.
- ✓
Serve. About 50 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
