Thursday, May 31, 2012

Nettle soup + garlic bread


  • Go to the bar for a few glasses of your favourite after-work tipple (I chose beer).
  • Go home and make a soup with an ingredient you have never before tasted.
  • Take a terrible photo of it.
OR 
  • Sober up.
  • Sweat onions and garlic in a pan with butter.
  • Make some mashed potato.
  • Don rubber gloves and rinse your nettles, removing any particularly stalky stalks.
  • Add the greens to your softened onions and add a little water, not too much, you can always add more at the end.
  • Once they've wilted, season and whiz.
  • Stir in your mashed potato and an avocado, then whiz again.
  • Serve with garlic bread.
  • Take over the world.

What did it taste like: Nettles taste like the sea! I have no idea why. This soup was creamy and green and delicately sea-weedy. It might sound weird, but I assure you, it was delicious. Plus, nettles are nutritiously outstanding, 40% protein and loaded with vitamins and minerals, including an abundance of vitamin K. (KER-POW!) And tell me, is there anything more magnificent you can do with a baguette than transform it into garlic bread? 

Tip: If you can't find nettles, make friends with someone who can. Apparently spring is the best time to get them, and once they start flowering they are not to be eaten. Take the leaves from the top of the plant. And protect yourself well.


3 comments:

  1. Hello, where did you find your nettles? Having often run through nettle patches as a child, I might give this one a miss as it does not bring back good memories. Instead I'll just eat an avocado with garlic bread and take over the world.

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  2. My friend, Alice, was in la Corrèze at the weekend, visiting family, and she offered to get me some! If you can find any, it's worth it, they have a very distinct flavour. Failing that, your plan B sounds just fine ;)

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  3. Finally I decided to make this, but I replaced the nettles with spinach, and it worked very well. The avocado gave this a good rich texture and flavour.

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