Nettle Soup

Soup, glorious soup. This is an easy foraged dish to get your bush dinner on the go. Nettles are an incredibly versatile ingredient with many uses. Once cooked nettles have a similar taste to spinach or cabbage.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
1 large floury potato (Maris Piper or similar), thinly sliced
1l vegetable stock
400g stinging or dead nettles, washed, leaves picked (see tips below)
50g butter, diced
50ml double cream

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, leek and potato and cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Add the stock and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft

2. Add the nettle leaves, simmer for 1 min to wilt, then blend the soup. Season to taste, then stir in the butter and cream. Serve the soup drizzled with extra oil and scattered with dead nettle flowers, if you have them.