Wild Garlic and Nettle Soup is a modern British recipe for a classic vegetarian soup or starter of onion, leek, celery, carrot, potato wild garlic and nettle leaves in a vegetable stock base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Wild Garlic and Nettle Soup.
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This is a classic foraged soup that just about anyone can prepare. I made this in late May, when both ramsons (wild/bear garlic) and three-cornered leeks are available (for ramsons the whole plant, including seed pods are edible, as are the whole of three-cornered leeks). I used ramson leaves and three-cornered leek flower stalks and flowers as the wild garlic component, but you could also use few-flowered leeks. Nettles may be getting leggy, but the tops are still tender and if you verges have been mown you will have fresh young nettles coming through.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for drizzling
25g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 leek, finely diced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 small potato, peeled and diced
1.2l good-quality vegetable stock
300g young nettle leaves
200g wild garlic leaves (keep any flowers if you have them)
3 tbsp milk
Method:
Heat together the oil and butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion, leek, celery, carrot, potato and a good pinch of salt, and stir until everything is well coated. Cover and sweat gently for 15-20 mins, stirring every so often to make sure that the vegetables don't catch on the bottom of the pan.
Pour in the stock and use to deglaze the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 mins. Add the nettles in several batches, stirring, then add the wild garlic leaves and simmer for 2 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat, set aside to cool a little then blend using a stick blender or tip into a blender. Return to the heat and stir through the milk, then taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls and drizzle over a little extra oil, then top with a few wild garlic flowers, if you have them.
