A return to better ideas from the past…a distraction from present distractions

Saturday, unusually was a particularly productive day. I managed to get a lot of plastering and sanding done on the repairs to the kitchen walls resulting form putting in the new stove. I made buttermilk waffles (from How to Cook Everything which is linked on the currently reading list on the left). I wandered around the neglected back yard and picked a pound of arugula and half a pound of sorrel. Then I made Cream of Arugula, sorrel and spinach soup with smoked oysters. It may just be the best recipe I have ever come up with and I’ll give it below.

Then I decided it was time to get back to writing my mystery novel that I have mentioned from time to time so I got started again and am spending a couple of hours today (Sunday) on it as well. But enough of that – time to tell you about the soup…

Cream of Arugula, Sorrel, Spinach and Smoked Oyster Soup

You will need a good two pounds of greens for this as well as some garlic and onion, a pint of cream and two 4oz cans of smoked oysters. First, chop coarsely about four cloves of garlic. I actually used a single stalk of green garlic from our vegetable box. Start that sauteing on medium heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Then carefully wash the greens (I used a pound of arugula, half a pound of fresh spinach and half a pound of sorrel). You may need to do this two or three times to get all the grit out. Then chop the greens moderately finely and start adding them about a quarter at a time until they sweat down to a smaller size. I also chopped up the green part of a bunch of spring onions and added them at this point. When all the greens are sweated down, add a quart of vegetable stock and bring it all to the boil and turn off. Add salt to taste at this point and then use a blender or some other method to puree almost all the liquid and greens (leave a little for texture). Now add the cream and carefully stir in. Add ground black pepper to taste. Then open the cans of smoked oysters, pour the liquid into the soup (if there is excess oil, pour that off first). Then chop the oysters into small pieces and stir them into the soup. Reheat at this point if necessary and serve. I made buttermilk biscuits to go with it and snipped chives onto the bowls of soup after serving.

This soup would probably be even better with even more kinds of greens, but arugula and sorrel really work very very well – you need something with a little kick to it as well as plainer greens like spinach or chard.