Chef Juliette
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Purée d’Oseille et de Sagou à la Crème
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 643, Purée d’Oseille et de Sagou à la Crème, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Buttered sorrel gives this pale green cream soup its bright, mineral edge, while sago supplies the body; the egg-and-cream liaison turns it silken, provided the pot never returns to a hard boil.
Soups & Stews
French
Comfort Food
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (1.9 L)
Purée d’Oseille et de Sagou à la Crème (sorrel and sago cream soup) teaches one exact lesson: enrichment is not boiling. The sharp leaves must first collapse in butter, the sago must swell until translucent, and the liaison, egg yolks and cream used to bind the soup, must thicken gently enough to remain silken.
The source gives the sago precisely, three ounces, then leaves the choice of milk or consommé and the final consistence to the cook. This home version keeps those three ounces, chooses milk for the cream preparation, and finishes at about two quarts. The original assumed a saucier watching separate pans and liquid always ready for adjustment; here a saucepan, a skillet, and an immersion blender replace the extra hands and tamis. Large service quantities are scaffolding. Buttered sorrel, thoroughly cooked sago, and the liaison are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The moment that decides everything comes after the yolks enter. Keep the soup below a simmer and stir without pause until it lightly coats the spoon. Give it a hard boil and the liaison grains; hold your nerve over gentle heat and the soup turns glossy, tender, and softly tart.
Purée d’Oseille et de Sagou à la Crème belongs to the classical Parisian potage repertoire rather than to one regional farmhouse tradition, joining a familiar French garden leaf to an imported pantry starch. Sago moved through bourgeois and grand kitchens as an alternative to rice or vermicelli because its pearls swelled clear while lending body without a roux. Despite loose modern labeling, true sago comes from palm starch and is not tapioca, though the two are often sold under the same name.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh sorrel leaves
Quantity
8 packed cups (1.9 L / 225 g)
stemmed, washed, spun dry, and roughly sliced
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
fine pearl sago
Quantity
Scant 1/2 cup (110 ml / 85 g)
whole milk
Quantity
7 cups (1.65 L / 1.7 kg)
divided
heavy cream
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
large egg yolks
Quantity
4
fine sea salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g), plus more to taste
divided
ground white pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh sorrel leavesstemmed, washed, spun dry, and roughly sliced | 8 packed cups (1.9 L / 225 g) |
| unsalted butter | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| fine pearl sago | Scant 1/2 cup (110 ml / 85 g) |
| whole milkdivided | 7 cups (1.65 L / 1.7 kg) |
| heavy cream | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| large egg yolks | 4 |
| fine sea saltdivided | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g), plus more to taste |
| ground white pepper | 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart (3.8 L) heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •10-inch (25 cm) skillet
- •Immersion blender
- •Balloon whisk
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the sorrel
Strip away the tough central stems, wash the sorrel well, and spin it thoroughly dry before slicing it roughly. Dry leaves matter because the sorrel must soften in butter, not stew in wash water; excess moisture thins its flavor and sends butter spitting across the stove.
- 2
Cook the sago gently
Reserve 1 cup of the milk in the cold. Bring the remaining 6 cups to the edge of a simmer in a heavy saucepan, then sprinkle in the sago gradually while whisking. Lower the heat and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring frequently across the pot floor, until the pearls are swollen and translucent with no chalky white core. The milk should tremble, never gallop. If it catches, don't scrape the scorched floor; pour the clean milk and sago into another saucepan and continue. Ça se rattrape.
Sago varies by pearl size. Trust the clear center rather than the clock, and stir more often as the soup thickens because milk scorches most readily near the finish. - 3
Butter the sorrel
While the sago cooks, melt the butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sorrel with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and turn it through the butter until it collapses into a soft, muted green mass, 6 to 8 minutes. Let its loose moisture cook away, but allow no browning. The color will lose its youthful brightness. That is sorrel behaving properly, not a mistake.
- 4
Purée and combine
Blend the buttered sorrel with 1/2 cup of the reserved cold milk until smooth, then stir it into the cooked sago. This brief blending replaces the tamis work of a staffed kitchen while leaving the sago pearls whole. Bring the mixture only to a bare simmer and judge the consistence: it should pour freely while lightly coating the back of a spoon. If it is thin, simmer it for a few minutes now; if it is too thick, add reserved milk a little at a time, keeping at least 1/4 cup cold for the liaison step.
- 5
Set the liaison
Whisk the egg yolks and cream together in a bowl. Take the soup off the heat, then whisk two ladlefuls of it gradually into the liaison to temper the yolks. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan while stirring constantly. Return the pan to the lowest heat and stir until the soup lightly coats the spoon and reaches 160 to 167°F (71 to 75°C), without simmering. If fine egg flecks appear, remove the pan immediately and whisk in the reserved cold milk. Caught early, ça se rattrape; blend for only a few seconds if flecks remain, accepting that some pearls will soften into the body of the soup.
Once the liaison is in, a hard boil is forbidden. Gentle heat gives the yolks body; boiling turns them into breakfast. - 6
Season and serve
Stir in the white pepper and enough of the remaining salt to sharpen the sorrel without making the soup taste salty. If the purée has tightened while standing, loosen it with a little warm milk. Ladle it at once into warmed bowls; reheating is always gentle and it must never return to a boil. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Look for fine pearl sago rather than the large pearls sold for desserts. True sago becomes tender and nearly clear; tapioca sold under the same name remains a little springier, but it can stand in if necessary. Follow the translucent-center cue and expect a longer cooking time.
- •Fresh sorrel gives the cleanest acidity. Out of season, plain frozen sorrel is the honest classical pantry answer; thaw 225 g, press out excess water, and cook it in the butter exactly as written. Spinach with lemon makes another pleasant soup, but it doesn't make this one.
- •Use whole milk, real butter, and dairy cream. They soften sorrel's acidity and carry the liaison. Reduced-fat milk leaves the soup thin, while margarine contributes neither the flavor nor the emulsion the preparation requires.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 2 days. Reheat over low heat with a splash of milk, stirring constantly and stopping before the first bubble.
Advance Preparation
- •The sorrel can be washed, dried, stemmed, and sliced several hours ahead. Wrap it loosely in a clean towel and keep it cold so the leaves don't bruise into a wet mass.
- •The soup can be prepared through the sorrel and sago combination up to 1 day ahead. Chill it promptly, then reheat gently and add the liaison just before serving; the sago will continue to swell, so keep extra milk ready to restore the proper consistence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 240g)
Calories
355 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
15 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
165 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
12 g
Protein
9 g
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