Packed with nutrients and bursting with flavor, this delicious stinging nettle soup is the perfect way to warm up on a chilly day.
There are plenty of healthy nutrients in stinging nettles. In addition to minerals like iron, magnesium and potassium, it is especially rich in vitamin C. This multifunctional green herb also contains many health-boosting secondary plant compounds, like chlorophyll. That’s many people consider stinging nettles a superfood.
Read more: Stinging Nettle: How to Use Stinging Nettles as Medicine, in the Garden and in the Kitchen
Before making nettle soup, you’ll need to collect the leaves, making sure to wear thick gardening cloves to protect your skin from irritation. Note: use only the upper (five) pairs of leaves on stinging nettle plants. Below that, the nitrogen content is too high. Additionally, try to collect only in rural areas away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Stinging Nettle Soup Recipe
For our simple stinging nettle soup recipe, you’ll need plenty of nettles and just a few other ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 4 packed cups of nettle leaves
- 1 onion
- 3-4 potatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 liter vegetable broth
- ½ leek stalk
- salt & pepper
- nutmeg
- olive oil for sautéeing
When possible, use organic ingredients for your nettle soup, as they are better for your health and for the environment. This recipe consists of ingredients that are often available from local farmers’ markets, meaning you can avoid buying produce that has been transported across long distances.
Instructions:
- Scrub the potatoes under water and cut them into small cubes.
- Peel and dice the onion and garlic.
- Heat oil in a pot and fry the onion until just soft.
- Add the diced potatoes and the garlic. Continue frying until the onions are translucent.
- Deglaze everything with the vegetable stock.
- Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, wash and chop the nettle leaves and cut the leeks into rings.
- Add the chopped nettle leaves and the leek. Let everything simmer until the potatoes are soft.
- Using a stick blender, purèe the soup until it reaches a nice creamy consistency.
- Season the nettle soup with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.
Serve this nutritious soup hot.
Stinging Nettle Soup Recipe Variations
- Fry some chopped ginger with the onions to give the stinging nettle soup a slight spiciness.
- For a fresher flavor, add a few squirts of lemon juice at the very end.
- Fresh herbs also go well with nettle soup: garnish with parsley or basil.
- Depending on your taste, freshly ground coriander, cumin and paprika powder make a great addition to this stinging nettle recipe.
- For an extra smooth and creamy soup, add some organic cream. You can also use a vegan heavy cream substitute.
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