Sunday, October 5, 2008

Stinging nettle soup!

Sounds pretty hard-core, huh? Well, you know me! :) Nettles are actually an extremely healthy food - they are rich in vitamins A, C, D, iron and calcium, and have quite a high amount of protein for a veggie at 40%! But what about the whole stinging issue, you ask? Even brief cooking totally neutralizes it.

I bought a bag of stinging nettles from the mushroom vendors at the farmers market last weekend, and ended up using their recipe to cook them up. It made a huge pot of soup, and was surprisingly delicious! Here is the recipe:

Springwater Farm Nettle Soup
1 lb. potatoes
1/2 lb. young nettles
1/4 lb. maitakes
1/4 lb. shittakes
2 oz. butter or olive oil
1/2 pts. chicken or veggie stock
sea salt
black pepper
4 Tb. sour creme (I subbed Tofutti and halved it)


Cook the peeled, chopped potatoes for 10 min. in salted water. Drain. Wearing gloves, cut nettles up with scissors (I pulled them apart with my hands over the saucepan). Melt the olive oil in a saucepan, add the nettles and stew gently for a few minutes.

Add the potatoes and heated stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms (I used a mix of cremini, shiitake, and chanterelles) in olive oil until cooked. When all is soft, cool slightly and mash with a potato masher, or puree in blender. Add the mushrooms, seasonings, and sour cream. Bon appetit!

The nettles tasted similar to spinach to me, but with a bit more of a bite and they didn't get as mushy. I think next time I make this, I'll add some garlic and maybe onion. This reheated nicely, and was great with Sriracha :)






No flash, served with garlicy french bread
















Zoey preferred the bread!












And a bonus! This is probably the best shot of a cat I have ever taken. It's the desktop on my computer now. I am so proud of myself!

Cookie girl mid-bath

7 comments:

VeganView said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
VeganView said...

What a scrumptious looking dish! And that last pic is adorable!

Did you find the brew at WF???

And thanks for the understanding of the dreaded dialing ;)

Chelsea said...

Oh, you're right, I was kinda spacing when I typed the recipe and just copied it from the one the farmer gave me (which said chicken or veg). I suppose there is that chicken-style veggie broth, though.

WF and brew is on my list for tomorrow! Maybe I won't have to go out for the debates Tuesday after all! :)

Anonymous said...

I didn't even know you could buy nettles!! It looks really good and perfect for this weather!

To comment about a previous post. I did hear Palin's slip of "Leave" rather than "Lead"...Wow!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

That soup kicks some serious butt! I love your kitties, awesome picture!!

Jen said...

stinging nettle does sound hardcore, but i do like spinach--so maybe i'll try it sometime.

jessy said...

wow! your nettle soup looks soooo tasty! and anything that's yummy with sriracha - yes please! goo to know nettle tastes a little like spinach - i ♥ me some spinach!

that's gotta be the cutest kitty shot EVER! ms. cookie = the cutest, indeeds!