Schav! A Twist on My Grandma’s Recipe for Traditional Sorrel Soup

Schav is usually green, but I used a lot of red-veined sorrel, which made the broth an adorable light pink color.

My grandmother Edna was 100% Polish, and she did not mess around in the kitchen.

She made all kinds of amazing dishes from the homeland, each more delicious than the next. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but one that stands out as her greatest hit is her version of schav, an Eastern European green borscht made with potatoes, onions, sorrel, and sour cream.

Schav, also known as sorrel soup, is a traditional dish in Jewish and Slavic cuisine, particularly popular in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. The soup is known for its tangy, lemony flavor, thanks to the sorrel leaves, which have a naturally tart taste. Schav was typically made in the spring when sorrel grew abundantly in gardens and forests. Its bright, refreshing flavor made it a staple in warm-weather meals, often served cold. In the U.S., Jewish immigrants helped popularize schav in places like New York, where jarred versions of the soup became common in grocery stores.

As with many traditional dishes, there are countless takes on how to make it best, but this is how Grandma Svorka did it, and how I do it today, though with fresh sorrel from my garden. (My grandma used jarred Manischewitz sorrel from Pathmark, and that was pretty tasty too.)

Ingredients

• Yellow onion

• 5 Potatoes (Yukon Gold)

• 1 Pound sorrel leaves (stems removed)

• 64 oz Vegetable stock

• Red wine or aged sherry vinegar

• Sugar

• 2 Egg yolks

• 1/2 Sour cream + more for serving

Instructions

1. Put olive oil into a large pot or dutch oven and heat. In the meantime, cut onion into small pieces. Add to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes.

2. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized cubes. Add to the pot with the onions and cook a few minutes more.

3. Remove the large stems from the sorrel and cut the leaves into large strips. Add handfuls at a time into the pot and stir until the leaves wilt slightly.

4. Add 64 oz of vegetable stock, along with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cover and cook until boiling, then turn down heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Remove the soup from the heat.

5. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tbsp of sugar and stir until dissolved.

6. Put 2 egg yolks into a bowl, along with 1/2 cup of sour cream. Spoon some of the soup liquid into the bowl and mix the ingredients together to temper them.

7. Once the soup has cooled slightly, add the tempered mixer and stir until smooth. Season with more salt and pepper as desired and serve at room temperature or cold.

8. Add additional sour cream if you know what’s good for you.

I dare you to find an easier soup than this!