Nettle Thyme Soup

Nettle Thyme Soup with a min ciabatta from Acme Bakeshop and a bouquet of mint. Arlie Sommer

Fresh Green Soup

Early spring is the perfect time to make a delicately flavored Nettle Thyme Soup. You’ll use the first spring nettles and and the last of the potato and onion store. The fresh greens, thyme, and mint produce a brilliant green soup, nutritious and filling. This recipe yields three to four quarts of soup, or a full dutch oven. It takes about an hour to make.

Ingredients

2 quarts of stock*

1 onion, diced

4 celery stocks, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 stick of butter

5 cloves of garlic, diced

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in small cubes

8 oz fresh stinging nettles

8 oz spinach

1/2 oz bundle of fresh thyme

Yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraîche

Mint leaves for garnish and a bite

Salt to taste

Lemon juice

Directions

Step 1

Heat a large enamel dutch oven on medium. Dice the onions, carrots, and celery and add to the pan with a half stick of butter. Cook for 8 minutes while dicing the garlic and cubing the potatoes.

Step 2

Add salt, garlic, the remaining butter, and potatoes to the pot, moving the other vegetables to the edge so the potatoes touch the pan surface. Let the potatoes brown for 4 minutes.

Step 3

While you remove the nettle leaves from their stems. You may want to use gloves for this activity though some people can avoid stinging by only touching the plant enough to pinch the leaf off. Stem removal may not even be needed if they are early and tender rather than abundant and woody.

Stir the potatoes and cook for an additional 4 minutes while continuing to remove nettle stems.

Step 4

Add two quarts of stock to the pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the bundle of thyme, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Step 5

Add the nettle leaves to the pot and more water to cover the contents. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, covered.

Step 6

While the soup cooks, fill a second, smaller pan with three inches of water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cover with a lid, cooking for about 30 seconds, or until the greens wilt. Remove the spinach from the heat, drain the water from the pan, and run cold water over the greens to preserve the bright color. Add the blanched spinach to the soup.

Step 7

Remove the thyme bundle. Use an emersion blender to liquify the soup and then serve immediately with a dollop yogurt, a splash of lemon juice, and some mint leaves.

*Making Stock

Soup stock is versatile and can be made from whatever combination of ingredients you prefer or have on hand. This flavorful liquid can be made and frozen for later. If you freeze the stock in glass jars, cool the stock before putting in the freezer and be sure to leave lots of room at the top to prevent the jars from breaking. This recipe will make up to 8 quarts of stock.

Ingredients

6 lb beef knuckles or marrow bones

6 oz tomato paste

1 T olive oil

1 head of garlic, peeled and mashed

5 celery stocks, chopped in large pieces

6 Carrots and stems, chopped in large pieces

1 oz dried mushrooms

1/2 oz thyme bundle

5 Lovage leaves, or as much as you like

Salt to taste

Directions

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Mix the olive oil and tomato paste in a bowl and brush onto the beef bones.

Step 2

Place bones in a roasting pan, or on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning the bones so they brown evenly.

Step 3

Add the roasted bones and the other ingredients to a large stock pot, cover in water, and simmer for 3 hours.

Step 4

Separate the solids from the liquid stock by pouring through a colander or sieve. Cool the stock completely before refrigerating or freezing.