Stinging Nettle Soup

Winter is coming and with it comes wet British weather. I wanted to create a hearty soup that could be easily sourced, made, and enjoyed while sheltering from the rain. Some may be skeptical about making a soup from a plant that stings you, but I for one like a bit of danger in my cooking. Besides, what's more British than a stinging nettle?

The first step is to collect the nettles. Those of you who, like me, were fortunate enough to have grown up in the english countryside, will surely be able to identify the plant reminiscent of a childhood spent falling into them. For the less rurally accustomed, or perhaps the less clumsy amongst you, nettles are easily identifiable and grow in most of England's green spaces, rural or urban, especially next to foot paths.

You will need about half a standard size shopping bag of leaves (PLEASE USE GLOVES). If you didn't have the foresight to only pick leaves, as I did not, de-stem the nettles (WEARING YOUR GLOVES) before proceeding.

To remove the nettles' stinging powers I heated the leaves in a large pot until it boiled, then removed the leaves and place them in iced water. Boiling will soften the nettle spines and the cold will break them off. Dry the leaves and set them aside.

~Fun Facts: Leaves and stems of stinging nettles are covered in small hair-like capsules containing a variety of liquid chemicals, including formic acid (also found in ants). When human skin touches these hairs they break off, allowing their contents to enter the skin.

The sting of a nettle can be soothed by rubbing the affected area with rosemary, mint, or sage. ~

Next, I chopped 1 onion, 1 large carrot, 1 leek and 1 large potato. I placed them in a large pot with a vegetable stock pot (a chicken stock pot would also taste great) and simmered them until they turned soft (about 15 minutes). I then added the nettle leaves to the pot and allowed them to wilt.

Once everything was mixed and the vegetables were softened, I blended the mixture (including the water) until smooth. The dark green colour of the nettles means the soup will turn a smooth light green (not dissimilar to our conveniently placed candle). Once blended, I added 50ml of double cream and 50g of butter to keep the constancy velvety and richen the taste. Finally, I seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and served pipping hot.

This soup is excuisite with bread dipped into it, and could act as either a starter or a main. Jeordy and I finished up the cold leftovers by pairing it with a freshly made toastie/grilled cheese, which was filling and comforting.

Ingredients:

-half a carrier bag full of nettles.

-1 onion

-1 leek

-1 potato

-1 carrot

-50ml double cream

-50g of butter