If life gives you nettles, make nettle soup. 

 

Delicious, nutritious and you can pick nettles from almost anywhere in Britain pretty much all year round. 

 

Just try to pick them as far from the road as possible and go for the youngest brightest looking leaves. Oh and use gloves. 

 

Ingredients 

 

• Half to a full carrier bag of nettles 

• 1 large onion roughly chopped

• 1 clove of garlic roughly chopped

• 1 large carrot roughly chopped

• 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped.

• 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock 

• 3 tablespoons cooked rice ( optional ) 

• 2 tablespoons thick cream 

• 1 tablespoon of butter 

• salt and pepper 

• pinch of nutmeg 

 

Chop up the onion, carrot, celery and garlic into small pieces. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat and sweat off what you've just chopped. Let it all soften up but not brown. 

 

Add the litre of stock made with a couple of chicken or vegetable stock cubes. 

 

To prepare the nettles separate all the leaves and wash ( its easier if you just pick the leaves in the first place ) Now throw the leaves into the pot as well. 

 

Boil everything up and then simmer for around 10 minutes. 

 

Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.