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Recipe · Stinging nettle

Nettle soup

A soft, spinach-like soup made with young spring nettle leaves.

Prep: 10 minTotal: 35 minMakes: 4 bowls

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica): hairy toothed leaves and hanging flower clusters
Photo: Skalle-Per Hedenhös · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ingredients

  • 2 handfuls of young nettle leaves (picked with gloves)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of rice or 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 5 cups of water or stock
  • Salt and chilli flakes

Method

  1. Wash the nettles wearing gloves and remove the tough stems.
  2. Fry the onion in the olive oil until soft; add the rice or flour and stir for a minute.
  3. Add the water and nettles; once boiling, simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Blend if you like; season with salt and chilli flakes.

Nettles lose their sting completely when cooked. Pick only the young spring leaves, before the plant flowers.

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