Last week a group of folks with distinguished palates and popular food blogs around Salt Lake City gathered at Vinto Pizzeria for the second Vintage Mixer (an underground supper club inspired by this blog). We ate and laughed and ate some more. A favorite dish of the evening was this mysterious Sorrel Zuppa, a creamy lemon flavored soup with yukon gold potatoes, sorrel (some call it lemon spinach), and cream. After tasting something so amazing and unusual I always want to go home and try making it myself and so I did and I’ll be sharing it with you today.
Attendees of this gathering included Lindsey from Cafe Johnsonia, Annalise from Completely Delicious, Heather from the Salt Lake Examiner, Barbara from Barbara Bakes, Ryan from SLC Eats, Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod, Jenny and Matthew from SLC Cheap Eats, Mike from Foodie from Scratch, Marsha from About.com Salt Lake, and Kelley from Mountain Mama Cooks. Its a rare occasion to have so many great cooks in one room and intimidating too. But in choosing Vinto, I knew that they wouldn’t disappoint this group!
One of the best parts of the evening was not only getting so many foodies in one room but also having their spouses there as well. The spouses, many of which are spoiled to amazing home cooking, were a blast to get to know and interesting to hear their thoughts of the food served that night. The vision for any ‘Vintage Mixer’ is to for people to discover genuine community around chopping blocks and dinner tables. The food community of bloggers and food critics continues to form strong bonds and friendships and this was just one of many events to help promote that. Loud laughing, glass clinging for a cheer, and folks exchanging phone numbers and websites were just a few natural results of placing such a special group of people around a table.
A good meal has everything to do with the company you keep, but another ingredient is crucial: delicious food. Vinto didn’t just serve up flavorful dishes, they served us creative inspiration, fresh local ingredients, and passion for what they love- pizza, pasta, salads, and gelato!
Choice dishes of the evening included Sorrel and Potato Zuppa, Grilled Artichokes with arugula and shallot vinaigrette, Fettucine Arancione- fettucine mixed with prosciutto and coated in an orange citrus sauce (out of this world, amazing!), Tuttabella- pizza topped with housemade spicy sausage, caramelized onion, fresh tomato, garlic, roasted peppers, fontina, and fior di latte mozzarella (their housemade sausage is the best I’ve tasted in town), and for dessert the Vanilla Gelato served with olive oil and grey sea salt, along with the Butterscotch Budino (pictured below) were huge hits.
Completely inspired by the experience we had a Vinto and on cloud nine from being around such wonderful people and amazing food, I came home excited to spread the love by giving you a taste of the evening. I spotted sorrel at the Farmer’s Market and snatched it up along with some Yukon Gold Potatoes and Leeks. My version of the soup is not exactly like Vinto’s but is super flavorful and a great way to try a new green. Sorrel is much like spinach but gives off a strong, but not overwhelming, lemon flavor. You really don’t even need to add lemon to the soup. You can serve this soup hot or chilled. I top it off with some Greek yogurt to add some extra creaminess. I hope you’ll give it a try.
Sorrel and Potato Soup
by FineCooking.com and inspired by Vinto Pizzeria
6 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 medium leek (white and light-green parts only), thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
Kosher salt
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice (about 4 cups)
6 cups of water
2 cup lower-salt chicken broth
2 generous handfuls of sorrel leaves, ribs removed; more for garnish (1 small bag at the Farmer’s Market)
2 Tbs. plain Greek yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the leek and a pinch of salt and cook until tender but not brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and then add 6 cups of water, the broth, and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add the sorrel and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Purée the soup in a blender until smooth. Whisk the yogurt into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with thinly sliced sorrel leaves and Greek yogurt.
To serve chilled: Pour the soup into a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 4 hours.
For a photos and reviews of each dish we tried through the evening at Vinto, check out SLC Eats and SLC Cheap Eats.
My husband raves about this place. I definitely need to go!
Thanks again for inviting me to the Mixer. It was a fabulous meal and Vinto is now on my favorite restaurant's list. This soup was delicious. I'll have to look for some Sorrel.
This evening was a blast, thanks again for the invite! I'm going to have to try this recipe chilled, as you suggest at the end. I wish I could find good sorrel in the winter time, this soup looks like it could make it into our regulars.
Mike, after making this at home, my husband also said it should be a staple meal. It is now one of our favorite soups! I guess you could freeze sorrel in ice cubes for the winter?? Or I could just be patient until next season. It would be fun to try and plant some in the garden next summer!
I loved the soup…well, I loved everything about that meal. The food and company was fabulous! thank you for including us in your mixer!
Hey ya'll, just wanted to update you with some good details on this recipe. I chatted with the chef from Vinto and he uses shallot (not leeks) and lots of sorrel. He buys his sorrel from Late Bloomin' Heirlooms at the downtown farmer's market. He also adds cream to his soup and tops it with aged parmesan.