Potato and Spring Greens Soup is a traditional British recipe for a classic early spring soup of wild greens, potato, onion and garlic. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Potato and Spring Greens Soup.
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One of the delights of early spring for me is going out foraging for the first of the year's bounty and coming back home with enough of various spring greens to prepare this soup. I always try and go out when the nettles are starting to emerge as nettle tips are the backbone of the soup. I was also lucky this year to get a bag of Maris Piper potatoes as the potato you chose will significantly affect the flavour. This yearI was really lucky to find some early season ramsons (bear garlic). Cleavers, very young ground elder and a few fronds of wild carrot greens rounded out the greens selection.
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized Maris Piper potato, peeled and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
handful of young nettle tops
2 handfuls of ramson greens
4 sprigs of wild carrot greens
handful of young cleavers
1/2 handful of young (lime green) ground elder leaves
oil for frying
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Place a saucepan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add a generous glug of oil and use to fry the potato, onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and the potato is beginning to brown around the edges.
Throw in the finely shredded nettles, wild carrot greens, cleavers, ground elder leaves and half the ramson greens. Stir fry for a few minutes until the greens have wilted then pour in 1l water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
At this point roughly blend the soup ingredients with a stick blender. Bring back to a boil, add in the remaining ransom greens and cook for about 2 minutes, until wilted.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper then divide between four soup bowls and serve.
