Nettle soup is a safe and easy introduction into foraging and cooking wild foods. It’s incredibly nutritious, and very cheap to make.
Stinging nettle soup is often one of the first recipes people try when they first get an interest in foraging for wild foods. Nettles are very easy to identify, and there aren’t any toxic look-a-likes, so it’s a brilliant plant to get well acquainted with.
As I was walking down to the hen house this morning I noticed a patch of lunch in the waiting… I later came back with my big foraging basket. And rubber gloves. Why the gloves?
There’s your answer! Jon recently cleared a patch of scrub and I noticed that the heads of nettles are peeping up through. It is totally the wrong time of year to be making nettle soup, do I care?
It seems not.
So, being unable to find my mini ‘Food for Free’ book and my ususal soup recipe within and preferring not to use Mr Fearnley Whittinstall’s version as, well frankly, I think it’s horrid, I threw caution to the wind and made it up as I went along. Afterall it’s nettle soup, not rocket science.
I chopped a heap of onions & garlic & fried in a dab of oil.
Added chopped potatoes & 2 bay leaves then chucked in the basket of nettle tops, a block of frozen chicken stock & some boiling water from the kettle.
Cooked it all till potatoes were soft, removed bay leaves & whizzed it all up. Et Voila!
Well, it was… Scrummy! My only fault would be that it needed a little drizzle of cream to complement the healthy, greenness and stop me feeling as virtuous as I currently am.
The only bought item in the soup was garlic, that’s not bad a free, locally sourced, food mile free, organic, close to nature meal now is it!!
For the record, rubber gloves are the clothing of choice when going picking – gardening gloves leave wrists too naked for my liking. Just mind you don’t tear them on hidden brambles.
Janie says
Haha, REVENGE!!! Have to say they are really tasty and like you say, they are SO good for you and fresher than anything you’ll get at the grocers/supermarket.Need some thickly buttered crusty bread tho, my marg scraped rye was great for the angelic feelings of healthyness but way to dull for my liking. Gotta have a chunk to dunk!!xx
sharie says
Thats an interesting recipe. I gather nettles and cook them for the dogs (along with other vegggies) theya re a good source of vitamins and iron.I’ve never eaten them myself though but it is a great idea to get your own back on them.
angel says
Flippin Nettle soup!!!! what are you on lady………..I had millions of them [up till this year] i could have supplied tosco’s with the blimmin fings, now i have managed to get them down to a dull roar you tell me that i can eat them!!!!!!!!!!! tsk tsk ……. though there may be enough for the OH tea…. lol.X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X
ANGLESEY ALLSORTS says
Hello! from a very wet Anglesey! Just found you – great blog. Soup looks great, it is that time of year for lushious warmin soup. Like you said – strange time to be able pick them, usually they say a good picking in spring useful to detox the winter body and zing the liver into action!Just looking at your little ducks and what not, I give my chickens Garlic (chop some yp and put it in their water container) its soposed to help keep the worms at bay.Be back for more, keep up the good work.x Vicky x
second wind says
As Angel said “Now you tell me” Been fighting with armies of them this year and now they’re gone! Looks really yummy soup so will be on the lookout for a fresh supply.
Lizzie says
wild garlic fab in this soup at this time of year