Stinging Nettle Soup

A white bowl with creamy nettle soup on a white plate, 2 crostini on the plate and a green tea towel around the plate.

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Stinging Nettle Soup with wild garlic and potato, a creamy and comforting homemade soup full of nature's goodness. If you like foraging and making the most of the Spring produce that is widely available in the wild, and costs no money at all, this delicious soup is a guaranteed winner.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine: International

Servings: people

Calories: 276kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

Ingredients

125 g nettles ( top leaves only, 4 oz)
1 potato
1 onion
8 wild garlic leaves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
65 ml double cream ( ¼ cup / 3 oz)
500 ml vegetable stock (broth, 2 cups)
2 tablespoon butter ( 30 g)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Bring a pan with water to the boil, add the nettles and leave it to boil for 4-5 minutes.
Drain the liquid, add the nettles to a collander, and use a wooden spoon to press down well to drain as much liquid as you can.
Transfer the nettles to a chopping board and chop them roughly.
In a pan set over a medium heat, add the butter and oil, and allow the butter to melt.
Peel and chop the onion, and add it to the pan.
Season with half a teaspoon of salt, then leave the onion to fry until golden.
Add the chopped wild garlic and peeled and chopped potato.
Pour over the stock, place a lid on the pot, and leave it to cook until the potatoes are cooked through.
Add a few tablespoons of the hot liquid to the bowl of cream, so that the cream can be the same temperature as the soup.
Remove the pan from the heat, and add the tempered cream.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Use a hand blender to blitz it until smooth.
Serve hot!

Video

Notes

Blanching the nettles in hot water before cooking with them is a crucial step, it ensures that all the impurities are removed. As nettles grow in various places, some more polluted than others, we need to make sure they are as clean as possible.
Use only the nettle leaves for the soup, the stems are too tough and it's best to remove them before adding them to the pan with boiling water.
Adding cream to the soup can be tricky and you might end up with curdled cream - best thing to do to avoid this is to add some of the hot liquid to the cream, mix it well, then remove the pot from the heat, and add the cream.
When the pot is back on the heat, give everything a good mix, the soup will stay creamy and aesthetically pleasing. For a thicker soup, use less stock than stated in the recipe card.

Nutrition