Spring In Your Step Soup

Make the foraged ‘spring in your step soup’ featured in Escape to the Farm with Kate Humble.

Serves 4

A pair of scissors and some washing up gloves are handy tools for collecting nettles. Try to spread out your picking, rather than concentrating in one small area. When picking nettles for this soup, select the young, fresher leaves from the tops of the stem. As a guide when picking, the amount required for this recipe would fill a couple of coffee mugs when packed down. Or about a third of a carrier bag.

Suitable for freezing.

Some hard cheeses such as certain parmesans are not suitable for vegetarians. So check before you buy, if you’re catering for vegetarians.

Ingredients

• 25g butter
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 leek, trimmed and washed, finely sliced
• 1 large floury potato such as Maris Piper, scrubbed and cubed
• handful of trimmed kale leaves, chopped
• 1 litre vegetable stock cube, dissolved into 1L boiling water
• 50g young nettle leaves, stems removed, washed well
• 100g baby spinach leaves, washed
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• croutons
• grated hard cheese, to garnish

Method

1. Heat a good glug of oil and the butter in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat.
2. Add the onion and leek, along with a good pinch of salt and sweat for 10 minutes or until softened.
3. Add the potato, kale and vegetable stock. Pop a lid on and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potato is softened (about 10 – 15 minutes depending on the size of the potato cubes).
5. Once the potatoes are soft add the nettle and spinach leaves.
6. Cook for 1 minute or until wilted then remove from the heat.
7. Blitz the soup until smooth.
8. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. It may need a bit more salt.

Serve warm garnished with croutons and grated cheese.

Order a copy of Home Cooked

Join a foraging course with Liz at Humble by Nature

Back to Escape to the Farm