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Sharpham House cook Sybille Pouzet shares how to forage yourself a tasty, nutritious nettle soup
Seasonal foraging can be so rewarding, and with this particular plant, easy to find!
Nettles are everywhere, whether you live in a city or the countryside. We are very lucky that our wonderful gardeners at Sharpham harvest tray-fulls for us, but I also enjoy picking them myself: an occasion to connect with nature…
Nettles are amazing and despite being considered a weed, they have a special place on our plates, giving us amazing nourishment that's perfect after a winter.
Nettles are a 'superfood' with one of the highest nutrient-densities of any plant. They are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, silicon, and potassium - essential for bone strength and blood health.
Often recommended to women for their iron content to help support menstruation, nettles also contain significant amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and several B vitamins. Some of the compounds in nettle may help lower blood sugar, with studies showing the plant's potential to mimic insulin effects.
The nettle is historically - and currently - used as a tonic to treat rheumatism and arthritis.
Tips on how to pick & forage nettles
- If picking with bare hands, grasp the stem from the bottom and move upward, or pinch the very top of the plant, moving in an upward motion. This brushes the hairs upward, preventing them from piercing the skin.
- 'Grasp the Nettle!': Firm, confident pressure is less likely to cause a sting than a light, hesitant touch, which triggers the stinging hairs.
- With tools: use scissors or shears to snip the tops directly into a bag or basket.
- Young plants are tender and the most delicious.
- Avoid flowering plants: Do not pick nettles once they have begun to flower, as they can develop compounds that are tough and bad for the kidneys.
- Location: pick in clean areas, away from roadsides, as they can absorb pollutants.
Once picked, the stinging hairs can be deactivated easily by:
- Cooking/blanching - plunge the nettles into boiling water for 1–2 minutes, then immediately into iced water.
- Drying - dehydrating the leaves removes their ability to sting.
- Massaging/rolling - massaging the raw leaves with gloves or rolling them with a rolling pin breaks the stingers.
To clean nettles, always wear gloves to avoid stings. Wash them by plunging them into a sink or bowl of cold water, swirling them to remove debris. Afterward, blanch the leaves in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then immediately place them in an ice-water bath, which removes all stinging properties.
How to make nettle soup
Serves 4
- 1 tablespoon (tbsp) of olive oil
- 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped - or if you can forage wild garlic, a handful of wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon (tsp) of fennel seeds
- A few pinches of salt
- Half tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- A pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 litres of vegetable stock
- 300g white potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 100g of fresh nettle tops, rinsed
- Juice of half a lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
NB: If you have a high speed blender you will not need to blanch the nettles before cooking. If all you have is a stick blender, I have found it easier to blanch the nettles, then chop them small, removing the thick stalk before adding to the soup.
In a large soup pan, heat the oil and add the leeks, a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until soft.
Then add the garlic, fennel seeds, ginger, nutmeg and herbs and cook for a couple if minutes.
Now add the potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
If using raw nettles add them in now and cook for another 8 minutes or so. If you have blanched and chopped the nettles already these can be added now but won’t need much longer to cook- perhaps another 5 minutes.
Make sure the potatoes are cooked through and when they are, remove the soup from the heat, add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Blend until smooth.
To serve, you could squeeze in a little more lemon juice, sprinkle on some black pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil or sprinkle over some hulled hemp, pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
Or make croutons, use different seeds…the topping possibilities are endless! A dash of cream could be lovely too…
