This is a very simple soup as all the ingredients are fresh from the garden apart from the onion.
A few tips, when collecting the nettles or ‘stingers’ as we call them for the very obvious reasons, wear gloves, cut only the very tips and it’s probably better to not use after the end of June when they become tougher. Also be careful where you collect from, nettles grow freely so take care not to use any that could be polluted.
The vegetables I have used today are those found in my garden at the moment (Late April).
The taste of the cooked nettles is quite similar to spinach and when there’s not to much growing in the garden it is lovely to have something to use that is fresh.
You will need the following
4oz Nettles washed and trimmed
4oz Leeks sliced finely
4oz Swiss Chard
4oz Onion diced
1 handful of wild garlic or 1 small clove
6 Lovage leaves
Add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes
All all the rest of the ingredients and continue to saute until the onions are transparent
Add 1 pint of water or stock
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Cook for a further 20 minutes
Whizz and serve.
