4 tbsp butter
1 medium Walla Walla Sweet, or yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 large bunch stinging nettles
nutmeg or other spices
salt and pepper to taste
heavy cream
Saute the onions in butter until near caramelized. Add the garlic and potatoes and cook over medium heat several minutes. Spice to taste. Add stock and water and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add nettles, stir, and cover. Cook 10 minutes on a low boil. Puree in blender, food mill, or processor, then return to pot. Add stock or cream if necessary; check seasoning. Serve with heavy cream.
The finished soup will be sweetened by the caramelized onion and thickened by the potato, but the real treat is the vernal shot of nettle. Reminiscent of spinach though wilder, nettles have a fresh, peppery zing that evokes the moist woodlands of their home. Later in the spring, when the days are warmer, you can omit the potatoes/cream and skip the puree step to simply enjoy a refreshing soup of chopped nettles. There are few foods better for you—or tastier
Brilliant!
I read quite a bit when i returned home from my first nettling of the year. The Wikipedia
entry states “The nature of the toxin secreted by nettles is not settled. The stinging hairs of most nettle species contain formic acid, serotonin and histamine; however recent studies of Urtica thunbergiana (Fu et al, 2006) implicate oxalic acid and tartaric acid rather than any of those substances, at least in that species.”
This plant blows me away. The things it does for us fit right in to the cycle of seasons… I get serotonin just when i need it most. And the juice of the plant, internally, helps lessen the effects of any stings by virtue of it’s ANTI-histaminic action !?
“Bioflavonoids in nettle leaves and roots are generally anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine.” -from the article you linked to.
Hey thanks for blogging, i really enjoy it.
So I’m sitting here nursing a nagging sore spot on my finger where I just tested some of my drying nettles. (There were still bits of duff on the screens from last year’s morel crop.) Anyway, the nettles are apparently not FULLY DRY because they still sting!
Have you heard that some people deliberately sting their joints to prevent arthritis and other nasty symptoms of aging? I suspect we’ve barely scratched the surface of the mighty nettle, scientifically at least.
Thanks for the Wikipedia link. Good stuff.
I’ve been eating nettles from my next door empty lot for a few years-mainly because I like their taste. I keep harvesting them until the get too buggy, around June in the NW. This year my fav nettle recipe is a rustic italian torta made in a skillet on a burner (and flipped over). I’ll blanch the nettles, add some leeks or onions, maybe some spicy sausage and then some cheese or egg to glue it together. Made it last night.
Also discovered it’s a favored egg laying place for butterflies.
blanched my crop this morning. we’ll test out your soup recipe soon! i love your blog, i feel we are kindred wild-food spirits.
how do you prepare the nettles for the soup? do you cut them small and throw them in?
thanks rachael
Rachael – The simplest way is to wash the nettles and add directly to the boiling soup. Then use an immersion blender or food processor.