S P R I N G · S O U P
During spring a powerhouse of minerals and vitamins is coming up almost everywhere, often called a weed; stinging nettle. This soup, after the first bite, instills a craving for more; not sure if it’s the earthy taste or the much needed nutrients that cause that.
Nettle not only serves as an important food supply for numerous insect species, including some butterfly caterpillars, but has also always been valued as a useful plant for nutritional and medicinal purposes. Mostly commonly we use nettle for tea, but it is a delicious food to cook with too, especially now the leaves are still young and soft.
In Ayurveda nettle is known for its detoxifying and purifying effects, while also being a rejuvenative, which is pretty special. Nettle is considered a cooling herb. It contains a high content of minerals like iron, calcium, selenium, zinc, and magnesium.
I keep a small patch of nettle in one corner of the garden. Around this time of year I cut of some tops (the top 10 cm; 4-6 leaves) and make a tasty nettle soup. See below for a simple recipe. This soup, after the first bite, instills a craving for more; not sure if it’s the earthy taste or the much needed nutrients that cause that. If a nettle soup sounds to daunting, you could start with just adding a few tops to another soup and see how you like it.
On the inspiration page you can also find a recipe for nettle infusion which is another way to get those beautiful nutrients inside your body. Both the soup and infusion are more efficient ways of getting nettles’ powerful nutrients than drinking nettle tea.
R E C I P E · Nettle soup
You can find nettle leaves almost everywhere in spring. The spring leaves are nice and tender and can be gathered mostly in April and May. Harvest from a spot away from big roads and traffic, as a general advice I’d say at least 200 meters away. Pick a spot you feel is clean.
To avoid stinging you can use kitchen gloves or plastic bags around your hands while harvesting and washing. I notice I can do the harvesting without, but do need gloves for washing.
method
· cut of some tops (the top 10 cm; 4-6 leaves). Depending how much other vegetables you use; you can pick around a hand full to a basket/pan
· after cutting, let the tops rest on a kitchen towel for an hour or so, so that small insects can find their way out
· wash/rinse the tops a few times
· roughly cut them small (like you would cut spinach or a bunch of fresh herbs). If the stems are woody, leave them out, but mostly in spring the top 10 cm stem is nice and soft
· you can sautee the small pieces with some onion or leek, add other vegetables like carrot or kohlrabi, (sweet) potato and water
· I often add a few hands of lentils and lots of fresh parsley, some salt and nice black pepper
· it’s always delicious finish with a squeeze of lime or lemon in your bowl