New potato and nettle soup

New potato and nettle soup

Spring

I’ve been making stinging nettle soup since I was a boy, but back then my experiments weren’t exactly edible. I just liked stewing them up with rainwater, in a big, old pot set over a fire. Sometimes I’d let them boil away for hours. I didn’t know then that nettle soup would become an absolute favourite. Occasionally, I like to make a bright-green version, by whizzing up the nettles, but here I’m keeping it chunky, because, in this case, it’s as much about the new potatoes as it is the nettles.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
  • 250g (9oz) new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 large or 2 smaller onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 3–4 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
  • 6–8 wild garlic leaves, or 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 litre (35fl oz) well-flavoured vegetable stock
  • 1 large colander-ful of young nettle tops, washed and roughly chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 super-fresh eggs, to serve (optional)

Method

Warm a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Drop in the new potatoes and the onions and let them sizzle in the hot oil for 3–4 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the crushed fennel seeds, the thyme leaves and the wild garlic or garlic, then season with some salt and pepper. Continue to cook for a further 8–10 minutes, stirring regularly, then pour in the stock, stir well, and bring the soup to a low simmer. Simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender.

Turn up the heat a little and add the nettle tops to the pan. Cook for a further 7–8 minutes, stirring the nettles into the simmering liquid to help them wilt evenly. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve at once with a trickle of olive oil and sprinkle of black pepper, and some good bread.

This soup is really delicious served with a poached egg on top. To do this, bring a medium pan of water to the boil and add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar. Twirl a spoon in the water to make a mini whirlpool. Crack in the eggs, turn the heat down to low and cook for 21⁄2–3 minutes, until the eggs are soft-poached. (Remember: the fresher the eggs, the better they poach.) Remove the eggs carefully with a slotted spoon and place one egg gently onto the top of each bowl of soup.

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