Nettle soup is one of my favourite spring recipes, it feels like a real tonic at the beginning of Spring. I’m always checking our nettle patch until they are just big enough for the first batch. Nettles give us so much, amazing they are often thought of as a pest..I can dye using them, cord and finer yarn was once made from them and they are delicious and packed full of goodness!
I start picking them at the end of April up here in the Highlands, picking the whole plant, taking out tough stalks. I carry on picking them right the way through until August, but by then I just pick the top 4 leaves, or look for younger ones. I usually wear gloves to pick them to save that buzzing feeling on my fingers, which seems to last for days!
I often serve this soup on my courses, to friends and my children even eat it! There are lots of ways to make nettle soup, but this is how I make mine..
Ingredients:
bag/basket full of fresh nettles.(when young I pick most of the nettle, as they get older just to top 4-6 leaves, as they get stringer as the season goes on).
Olive oil/butter for frying onion and chopped veg.
1 onion (chopped)
1 stick of celery (chopped)
1 carott (choppped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped or crusshed)
1 desert spoon of bouillon
1 tsp of chopped thyme
1/2 lemon juiced
2-3 chopped potatoes (depending how thick you want the soup to be)
1/4 tsp of grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 tbs of cream (optional)
Method
Wash the nettles, pick out any tough stalks etc. Meanwhile fry the chopped onion, carrot and celery until soft. Add the garlic, fry for 1 minute then add washed nettles, bouillon, potatoes, lemon juice, thyme and enough water to cover the whole lot. Add salt and pepper and nutmeg. Let everything boil and then gently simmer for 30 minutes. They blend using a soup blender until smooth, taste and add extra nutmeg or salt and pepper if needed. Add cream at this point if you would like to.
I usually serve this soup with croutons made from our wholemeal spelt bread, fried in olive oil, giving a lovely tasty crunch.
Enjoy!
We often serve this soup on our weekend and week long craft courses and holidays..please have a look at our main website to find out more about what we do..www.wildrose-escapes.co.uk
