Bonus Material: Recipes

Sarah's Nettle Soup Recipe for Spring

Sarah is a Victoria-based, kitchen-trained, local-food purchaser and harvester. Her recipe for nettle soup is one to get creative with. Experiment with amounts based on your past soup experience and taste preferences.

Fresh picked nettles, approximately half a grocery-store produce bag full (Sarah says, "Use gloves, because nettles don't rely on karma for payback.")

Chicken or vegetable broth, amount based on how much soup you need and how thick you like it

Sautée some onions in a bit of olive oil until transparent but not browned. Add some thyme or savoury, and a little white wine, unfiltered apple juice, or apple cider, or anything that has a little sweetness and a little dryness to it.

Simmer the onions & liquid until the liquid is almost gone. Add the broth and a bay leaf and bring to the boil. Add the nettles (carefully!) and boil until the nettle leaves are bright bright green (or a little longer if they have thick stalks).

Run the soup through the blender or use a hand blender if your hand blender is really, really good - you will get better results with a regular blender.

Return the blended soup to the pot and reduce heat to barely a simmer. Add salt to taste, then finish with some heavy cream. The cream is optional, but it really emphasizes the almost mushroom-y taste of the nettles and makes the soup less of an appetizer and more of a meal.

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