Nettle Soup

I picked up some stinging nettles from the Burlington Winter Farmers' Market last Saturday, with a view to making nettle soup. Stinging nettles are extremely prevalent in the UK - I would see them (and be stung by them) all the time growing up. Although I have never seen them growing wild here in Vermont, I am assured that they do (and some of my nettles were from a forager, so that is proof enough). Anyway, I had never eaten them and felt like getting my own back on the weeds for stinging me. Plus I read that they are very good for you - they are supposedly an immune-system booster.

Nettle soup is easy to make. Sweat 1/2 an onion, finely diced and a little garlic (1/2 clove at most, minced) in some butter until soft. Meanwhile, wash your nettles (I used 3 good-sized bunches) and remove the thicker stems (be careful not to get stung - mine had been in the fridge a few days and did not seem to be capable of stinging any more). Add the nettles to your onions and cook in the butter for a minute or two. Add 3 cups of stock (I used chicken stock, but you could use vegetable stock if you prefer) and 3 tbsp cooked rice (optional; to thicken the soup). Bring the stock to a boil and simmer about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and blend the soup (you can use a blender, in which case be very careful - do it in small batches slowly - or you can use a stick/immersion blender, which is what I did).

At this point I strained my soup through a fine sieve. You can decide whether or not to do this depending on how you like your soup - with texture (do not strain) or smooth (strain). Place the soup back on the heat and return to a simmer. At this point, switch off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Add a little grated (or ground) nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from one of the same name in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Cookbook', a great guide for producing and cooking your own food.

Note: Metric info - 3 cups = 700 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml