Club Wild – Take that nettles!

For all the times we have been stung by nettles we at club wild like to get our revenge and turn them into an amazingingly tasty soup.

Common nettle or stinging nettles are so abundant. You can find them along the edges of paths and hedges, in woodlands and disturbed ground. It’s green leaves with  deeply serrated edges and stems are covered in hollow hairs which can sting.

The nettles sting to protect the plant from predators eating and weakening the plant.  We know they do it for a purpose and we know that nettles are really good for butterflies and their caterpillars but still getting stung is really, really sore!

Here is our Club Wild Nettle Soup Recipe, which just about makes up for all the stings.

Ingredients

• 50g butter/1 tbsp olive oil

• half a carrier bag of nettle tops or large leaves

• 1 large onion chopped

• 2 large potatoes cut into cubes

• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

Wearing rubber gloves we picked and sorted through the nettles. Back at school we then washed them and drained in a colander.

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook gently for 5-7 minutes until softened. Add the stock and potato. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until the potato is soft, about 15 minutes. Add the nettles.

Remove from the heat. Using an electric hand-held stick blender, purée the soup and then season with salt and pepper.

It looks and tastes amazing, so green but also creamy and rich. Some of us were slightly worried that it would still sting but heating the leaves takes all the sting away.  Katie and Kai liked it so much they had two bowls 🥣😊