Wild Garlic & Nettle Soup
4 servings
25 minutes
Good for a quick lunch with free, foraged food!
About this Recipe
I’m fortunate to work with some wonderful people! One such person is Georgina Valentine, Natural Chef at Upbeat Roots and Photographer who created the original recipe for this soup and took this beautiful photo! Together we’ve tweaked it so it’s quick and easy to whip up after a Spring or early summer walk collecting these abundant leaves…
Ingredients
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1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
2 handfuls of a mix of nettle, dandelion leaves and slightly more wild garlic leaves, thoroughly washed.
2 small handfuls of spinach leaves
1 stick of celery
2 small potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 tbsp of lemon thyme leaves
1 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil
juice of ½ a lemon
100g frozen peas
50g soft goats cheese
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
a few walnuts or flaked almonds to decorate
Optional toppers: Fresh mint leaves or chives, dandelion flowers, yogurt
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Sauté the finely chopped onion in the cold pressed rapeseed oil until it softens
- Add the chopped celery, grated garlic clove and potatoes and ‘sweat’ on a low heat for 5 minutes
- Add the nutmeg, stock & lemon thyme. Bring to the boil
- Simmer for 10 minutes until the potato has nearly cooked then add the frozen peas, spinach and foraged leaves and simmer for 3 more minutes.
- Blend the soup with the goat cheese and season to taste. Serve your beautiful bright green soup in delicate bowls, and swirl in a drizzle of yogurt and olive oil. Top with either flaked almonds or chopped walnuts with some chopped mint leaves or chives, and if you have, dandelion flowers look pretty too!
Variations
The joy of foraging is using what you find – wild mustard leaves in small amounts could also be added in or used instead of the dandelion
Make sure to have your foraging handbook with you for correct identification if new to foraging!
Nutrition
Cold pressed rapeseed oil is an excellent nature-friendly cooking oil and is unaffected by high temperatures. It’s nice to be flexible with your foraged ingredients hence using ‘handfuls’ as your measure!
These leaves are at their most nutritious early in the summer when they’re vibrant and young. They’re a fabulous source of health-giving antioxidants and Vitamin C
