No nettles, no soup

It’s summer at last and lots of things are flourishing in our garden, so we’re enjoying raspberries, beans, potatoes, beetroot… but this year for no reason there are no nettles! I don’t like coming across nettles unexpectedly but butterflies love them, and they make excellent soup! This is a post I wrote ages ago:

I seem to be on a roll now with successful soups!

We’ve just had nettle soup for lunch, so simple to make and costs nothing but a couple of potatoes (unless you grow your own) cream, nutmeg, seasoning… oh and an onion.

Using rubber gloves gather your nettles, strip them of their leaves and rinse very, very well. Cook for literally a couple of minutes only in a little water until they wilt down like spinach, then strain but keep the green water.

Add a couple of cooked potatoes – or some left-over mash, some onions fried in butter and oil, and blend the vegetables with the wilted nettles, picking out any nettle stalks which you can do  with your bare hands now.

Sieve, return to pan and heat gently adding a little cornflour blended with cream – do just a little at a time and then add a little more if you need it, otherwise you might accidentally end up with wallpaper paste. Season well (it needs more salt than you think it will) and plenty, I mean plenty of nutmeg. Add as much cream as you like to your taste.

I  cooked some crisp bacon for a garnish, but crispy fried onions would be nice too,  and then all was ready. Serve with a swirl of cream and another sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.