One of my favourite local plants is the medicinal and delicious stinging nettle. When fresh, it makes a savoury soup, and can be used in all kind of dish like quiches, stews or teas. In the garden, added to the compost pile it helps to fortify its elements. Urtica urens in an incredible herb as it nourishes every single cell of the entire organism. It is a great food for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. It contains almost all known vitamins, minerals, and lots of chlorophyll. It supports most systems…the immune , the nervous, endocrine, respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems. It also helps with skin issues from eczema, allergic reactions, and bronchial congestion, rheumatism etc… it helps in decreasing blood sugar in diabetes, and acts as a gentle diuretic to decrease blood pressure. It tonifies and detoxifies.
Ingredients:
- 200g fresh nettles (about one large salad serving bowl full)
- 1 large onion
- 1 large stalk of celery
- 1 large potato (approx 300g)
- 500ml (about a pint) fresh water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of black pepper (optional)
- 75ml coconut cream (optional)
- Dash of olive oil (to saute onion)
- Chive flowers to garnish (optional)
Directions:
- Chop onion and saute for a couple of minutes using the olive oil in a medium sized pan.
- Chop potato and celery roughly in to small chunks.
- After a couple of minutes add the water, along with the potatoes, celery, salt and pepper and bring pan back to the boil. Once it is boiling turn down to a simmer and prepare the nettles.
- Preparing nettles is a simple art once you know how. Use rubber gloves and place them in a large colander to rinse if necessary. Shake off any excess water and pick the leaves off the stems. Once you have done this (still with gloves on) use a large sharp knife to roughly chop them up. Be really careful at this stage to avoid cutting through your rubber gloves (I’ve seen this happen so many times, so stay aware).
- After about 15 minutes of cooking the contents of the pan, add in the nettles. Stir in if needed and allow to cook for a few more minutes. If you love coconut and have coconut cream available you might like to add some at this stage for a creamier effect (although this is optional).
- Blend the soup and then serve along with some delicious spelt bread or home made oatcakes.
Complimentary recipe by: https://www.trinityskitchen.com/very-nettle-wild-vegan-soup/