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Aveluk mashed soup (horse sorrel)

Aveluk Soup (Armenian Dried Sorrel)

An exceptionally light dish for a trim waistline! I'll add this: many of my countrymen might be horrified that I purée the aveluk in a blender, treating it as sacrilege to stray from the old way grandmother used to cook it. But that's really not my problem — I love the taste of aveluk as a smooth soup, not the feel of leafy greens catching between my teeth. By the way, I make Russian green sorrel soup the same way in spring (just without the lentils). Aveluk, or curly dock, is a perennial in the buckwheat family. It's rich in tannins that help flush toxins from the body, along with essential oils, oxalic acid salts, organic iron compounds, and vitamin K — a fat-soluble nutrient that supports protein synthesis and plays an important role in bone and connective-tissue metabolism, as well as healthy kidney function. In Armenia, aveluk grows just about everywhere — along roadsides, forest edges, clearings, and meadows. But the most tender, flavorful leaves grow in the alpine meadows of the mountains, and it's mainly the leaves that are eaten. Aveluk is harvested from late May to early July; gathered any later, it turns tough and bitter. For convenience, the long leaves are braided into a rope about 3–5 feet (1–1.5 m) long, hung to dry in a well-ventilated spot, and used all through the fall and winter. Now that you know a little about how good aveluk is for you, we're obliged — if not to love it, then at least to give it its due in the form of a soup.

Anahit

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Aveluk (dried sorrel)

250

Lentils

250

Onion

Potatoes

Vegetable oil

Garlic (or 6)

Fresh cilantro

Water (cold)

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 22 % 2 g

Fats 22 % 2 g

Carbohydrates 56 % 5 g

48 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients.
Step 2:

Snip the aveluk into pieces with scissors.
Step 3:

Drain it in a sieve.
Step 4:

Put it in a pot, cover with cold water, and gently push the aveluk down with your hands to rinse off any dust.
Step 5:

Drain the first water. Cover with warm water and let it sit. After 30 minutes, drain again — this removes a bit of the bitterness. Cover with fresh water a third time and add two cloves of garlic.
Step 6:

Bring to a boil, then simmer the aveluk over low heat for 30 minutes.
Step 7:

Near the end of cooking, add half of the salt.
Step 8:

Let it cool slightly.
Step 9:

Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth.
Step 10:

Finely chop the garlic and onion.
Step 11:

Put them in a pot, add the vegetable oil and a little of the cooking liquid from the aveluk, and braise (you can simply fry them, but I prefer braising).
Step 12:

Add a little flour and lightly toast it.
Step 13:

Then stir in the rinsed lentils.
Step 14:

Cook until the lentils are about halfway done.
Step 15:

Then add the finely diced potatoes.
Step 16:

Simmer over low heat until the lentils and potatoes are tender.
Step 17:

Add the rest of the salt to taste. At the very end, stir in the finely chopped cilantro.
Step 18:

Let it rest so the flavors meld.
Step 19:

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.