If you think your guests will be completely turned off by the
thought of eating stinging nettles, tell them this is watercress. The
two are so similar they’ll probably be none the wiser. Just
remember you can’t use sprigs of fresh nettle as a garnish, and wear
your rubber gloves for the first part, the nettles don’t lose their
sting till they’re cooked.
Obviously you really can make the soup with watercress
instead, but it’s always good to try something a bit different and
nettles cost nothing so give them a go …
Nettles (the equivalent of an average bag of watercress)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 pint (600 ml) chicken stock
1⁄4 pint (150 ml) milk
2 heaped tbsp plain flour
2 tsp dried parsley
1tsp nutmeg
Butter
Salt & pepper
Vinegar
Method
1. Wearing your rubber gloves, pick the youngest, bright green,
nettles you can find (after all, they’re everywhere), about 6–8 in
(15–20 cm) from the top.
2. Wash the nettles thoroughly in a big bowl of salty water and
rinse them under the cold tap to be sure they’re clean.
3. Warm some butter in a large saucepan while you peel and
roughly chop the onion and crush the garlic, then put both in
the pan together and cook gently for a few minutes until the
onion has softened.
4. Squeeze excess water from the nettles – still wearing the rubber
gloves – and add them to the pan with a teaspoonful of vinegar.
Cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently for about 5 minutes
before adding the chicken stock, milk and nutmeg.
5. Stir well and bring the soup to the boil; meanwhile put 2
heaped tablespoons of plain flour, 1 tablespoon of butter and
a couple of teaspoons of dried parsley in a cup or small bowl
and mash together till smooth.
6. As soon as the soup has started to boil, turn the heat right
down and add the parsley, butter and flour mixture, stir until
dissolved then leave to simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
7. Blend the soup, and if you want it thicker, whisk in a couple of
spoonfuls of instant mash.
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