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Nettle soup
Serves 6 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- knob of butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock handful spinach
- 3–4 handfuls young nettles, well washed
- white pepper
- vegetable oil, to deep-fry
To serve (optional)
- crème fraîche
- toasted seeds
- penny buns (see recipe, right)
Method
Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion, celery, garlic and bay leaves and sweat down for a few minutes. Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Add the spinach and most of the nettles, reserving a handful, and return to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender.
Whizz the soup until smooth, and season with sea salt and white pepper. Pour around 2cm vegetable oil into a small, heavy-based pan set over a medium heat. Heat the oil until a cube of bread dropped into it turns golden in around 15 seconds (approx. 180C on a cook’s thermometer).
Deep-fry the reserved nettle leaves just until dark green and crisp, shielding your eyes as the oil will spit. Drain on kitchen paper, then drop into the soup. Serve with a drizzle of crème fraîche, toasted seeds and penny buns, if using.
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