creamy nettle soup
In addition to all of the incredible medicinal and nutritional properties nettles have (read more about them in my post on nettle infusions), I love that this is an herb that works very well as a food. You can use them in basically the same way you would use any other green like spinach or kale, but you can typically find nettle patches growing around you (aka free food, following ethical and smart harvest practices of course) AND they provide unique nutritional benefits.
This soup is a celebration of nettle and uses aromatics, umami, fat, and acid to accentuate and elevate their inherent earthy, green, salty flavors. After blending for a few minutes, this soup becomes so soft, velvety, and rich while also maintaining a nice spring-y lightness. This soup pairs perfectly with your favorite bread.
I hope this soup helps you to connect to nettle and celebrate spring! Let me know what you think!
creamy nettle soup
ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil (plus more for finishing)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
5-6 small potatoes or 1-2 large, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 14oz can white beans
1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1.5 tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
8 cups fresh stinging nettles (both leaves and stems from the young, new growth at the top)
2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
Optional: Flakey sea salt, these croutons, or your favorite bread toasted to serve
Roughly serves 4 as a main
instructions
Put a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the onion and stir until translucent. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes, white beans, coconut milk, vegetable broth (or water), salt, and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn the heat to low, cover the soup, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Next, add the stinging nettle to the pot and stir, cooking for 5 minutes until the nettle has wilted. Turn off heat. Let the soup cool for a few minutes.
After the soup has cooled a bit, pour it into a blender. Add the tamari, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Blend on high for about five minutes or until you have a velvety, even consistency. [You can also use an immersion blender here, but the texture won’t be quite as nice.]
Next, taste! If needed, add more lemon juice, salt, or tamari and blend again.
Now to serve! Pour the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, top with flakey sea salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if desired. Best eaten with some of your favorite bread.
