Common Sorrel is a wonderful plant to forage, otherwise known as narrow-leaved dock, garden sorrel or spinach dock. This wild plant is often found amongst grasses, fields or can be growing in your garden. Use in salads or as a vegetable treated in a similar way to kale, salad or spinach. Sorrel can be identified by its arrow shaped shiny bright green leaves, growing in clusters around a rosette. Although the key ID to look out for it’s pointed tails either side of the stem at the base of the leaf. In summer sorrel sprouts tiny red flowers. However it could be confused with the larger lords and ladies which are poisonous. But these are bigger and the tails are much more rounded in comparison to sorrels pointed ones.

Sorrel has a sharp taste some liken to apple or lemons and is a perfect plant to add a bit of zing to salads or deserts. We have also frequently used sorrel in our wild cocktails at our Forage and Feast events. And in desserts like sorbet or pannacotta. Make a sorrel sugar and sprinkle over the top, the really fresh sour taste contrasts amazingly well with the creaminess of the pannacotta.

Not only is sorrel super tasty, like all the wild plants we forage it is also really good for you. This plant is known for it’s diuretic properties and relieving sinuses.

Ingredients:

• 175g self raising flour
• 175g butter
• 175g sugar
• Tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• Sprinkling of poppy seeds
• Small handful of white chocolate chips
• Small handful of sorrel
• Splash of milk

How to make our sorrel cupcakes:

Whisk the butter & sugar together till blended and fluffy

Then add eggs slowly and whisk on high

After sift in flour gradually to add to mixture (add splash of milk if needed)

Add poppy seeds, white choc chips and finely chopped sorrel leaves.

Next pour into cases in a muffin tray and bake on 180 for around 20-25 minutes

Make a simple sugar syrup and infuse with a couple of handfuls of sorrel. Add this syrup to icing sugar and cover cakes when cool.

Decorate with sorrel leaves & wild flowers.

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