The Foraging Willburys... Nettle Soup Recipe

Living The Good Life..Nettle Soup Recipe

Occasionally we needed a break from the heavy dusty dirty work of the house, to do and learn something different.

I was going back to work at the end of May so wanted to make the most of the house, garden and new experiences. To the side of the house was a small plastic greenhouse which needed to come down so whilst unpinning this and adding the wood to the ever growing pile for the skip we came across potatoes that had been planted, I didn`t really know what to do with them so made a space in the garden and planted them in there, just to keep our fingers crossed.

Rotting Garden Green House

Our Practice Veg patch

We made this section our little area for growing veg. this was not our forever veg patch but a space to grow and learn.

There was a learn to grow your own veg course came up on line, you joined this and it provided the seeds as well

I was so excited and have always wanted to have a go at being self sufficient and

this was my time to trial it.

The seeds I had were chili seeds, Jalopeno and cayenne , we had carrots, lettuce, green and purple beans, Kale and spinach. and beetroot and each day the course would teach you what to do with each of the seeds so a different topic every day and then when to go back to it to replant or to separate or feed. it was r really enjoyable and educational.

Beans Garlic Beetroot Kale

Whilst I was waiting for growth, I was doing alot of cooking from scratch, As alot of people did during lockdown,

Potatoes Did relly well

I think this was the best our diet had been for years. I decided to have a go at foraging in the garden. We had alot of nettles, and Rob looked very worried when I came back with a bowl full of nettles to make nettle soup.

Which is so easy to make and also so good for you. I am not sure I had a good enough selling point for Rob not to think he was on celebrity get me out of here, except for we haven`t had to pay for it as its already in our garden. He decided to give a go but not happily. Here is the recipe I used from BBC Good food.

• 1 tbsp olive oil,

• 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 STEP 1Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, leek and potato, and cook for 10 mins until the vegetables start to soften. Add the stock and cook for a further 10-15 mins until the potato is soft. STEP 2Add 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.

I also felt a little anxious about cooking it and eating it. Was it going to sting, was it going to taste nice and is it safe, have I picked a nettle or something else? Other people do this so I should be ok!

I followed a recipe and it was really good, tastes a bit like spinach, I am sure there`s alot more can be created with it.

Nettle Soup

Some of my veg was a success and some wasn`t. The green beans and purple beans were great and so tasty we had alot of those and its so exciting finding them on the plant. The carrots were so small, too small, but I will definately try again, we got our potatoes which were amazing and our kale and spinach plants grew well I was pleased but for the slugs

This was the thing I found difficult was keeping the slugs and caterpillars off. I tried a few things and really they didn`t work but I would really like to try a natural product not a poison or a killer.(if anyone has any idea then please let me know)

My chili plants were amazing. we had alot of chilis and both plants thrived. I did keep these inside but that also comes with different problems such as aphids. neem oil we found was the best and just to check them each day.

Rob was very happy with the chilis and the chili jam I made.

I am looking forward to the day we can properly become self sufficient and learn more about grow your own veg.

I may try the nettle soup again and call it something different,,, just don`t tell Rob!

Health Benefits