Without doubt we have all heard of nettle soup but I'm guessing not many of us have tried it. I for one am guilty of this so I thought it was time to try it. I even managed to talk my partner into nettle hunting with me. What better way to bond as a couple than to go foraging (especially when your other half is no way as near interested as you are about foraging). So together we had our carrier bags, hardy gardening gloves (for the sting), camera and scissors. We had fun comparing notes and looking for the best crop of nettles. We found some dead nettles and some stinging nettles on a walking path near our home. The location is popular with dog walkers so try and pick those as far away from the 'dog leg arching' as possible and give them a good wash in tepid water and a bit of salt.
I enjoyed identifying some other edible weeds on the way which created a great discussion for us. Hey I was even taken to a location not too far from us to identify a horseradish my partner had seen a few days earlier (so he does listen LOL). My constant chatter about edible weeds and plants has rubbed off on him. Anyway it wasn't a horseradish but I did appreciate the observation and interest so for that a gold star for my man.
We found an abundant amount of both stinging and dead nettles. We only picked the young leave tops as they are apparently nicer to eat. I should own up at this point that my partner was allocated to gather the nettles whilst I gathered and dug up some dandelion roots and leaves which I will discuss in another post. However we had a really pleasant morning discussing weeds and how we were going to make a fab nettle soup which neither of us had ever had. With almost a bag full of nettles the rain began to descend on us and we headed home.
My partner looked up some recipes and he settled on Hugh Fearnley's nettle soup recipe from the TV series River Cottage. So I adapted his recipe to create and make an amazing super soup with a punch.
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| Fig. 1. L. Moore Spicy Green Nettle Soup |
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| Fig.2. L. Moore A detail of Spicy Green Nettle Soup |
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| Fig.3. L.Moore. Ready to Eat Spicy Green Nettle Soup ... Yum! |
Ingredients (for about 4 people ... though we had it between us)
1 tbs butter (or coconut oil)
1 nearly full carrier bag of nettles
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 large potato
Parmesan cheese for grating
A half to a litre of vegetable stock (or chicken). The amount depends on how thick you like your soup so I add half and then top up until I have the desired thickness
Season with salt and pepper
3 small dried red chillies (optional as we love chillies)
3 cloves of garlic (optional as we love garlic)
Creme fraiche
Olive oil
Method
Wash your nettles in a sink of tepid water (wear gloves) and then put in colander and rinse again
Melt butter/coconut oil in a large pan
Add your finely chopped onions and garlic and chillies and cook until nice and soft
Add your chopped carrots and potato and stir. Then add half a litre of stock and simmer with lid on for ten mins.
Then add your nettles and simmer with lid on for 5 or 10 mins until vegetables are just soft.
See if you need more stock and if you do add more and stir. When ready turn off the heat.
Then blitz with a blender until smooth
Add seasoning
Pour into your lovely bowls and add some creme fraiche, and top with grated Parmesan and a glug of olive oil.
Hey presto slurp it down with a good home made bread ... yum.
Some information on nettles
The stinging nettle is a course upright perennial, covered in fine hairs and their leaves are toothed and heart shaped. They are packed with high levels of vitamin A and C, and also contain iron and protein. The dead nettle is very similar to stinging only they don't sting when touched. Their leaves are in pairs, triangular , pointed and coarsely toothed.
Sources
https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/nettle-soup
Richard Mabey (2012) Food For Free Harper Collins Publishers, London. p, 63 &104
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