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Stinging nettle?! Isn’t that the plant that ruins your hiking adventure when you brush against it and get painful welts?
Yes, it is. But you can take your revenge and bite back. (With some precautions.)
We’ve previously written all about the edible virtues of stinging nettles. We love stinging nettle so much as a nutrient- and protein-rich early spring veggie that we grow it in certain spots in our garden, rather than simply foraging it.
Each spring, we try to make a few new recipes with our stinging nettle. Sometimes the recipes are so-so, and sometimes they’re awesome and become keepers (like this one).
Stinging nettle soup exploration
Our standard stinging nettle recipe is stinging nettle soup, which we tweak depending on what else happens to be in our harvest or foraging basket. Until this year, we’ve always made COOKED stinging nettle soup.
The problem with cooked stinging nettle soup is the attractive, bright green stinging nettle leaf color turns to more of a dull green-brown color (due to heat and oxidation) that doesn’t look very appetizing. While we don’t mind the color, we’d be hesitant to serve it to guests.
This year, we had an epiphany. Would it be possible to make RAW stinging nettle soup?
An interesting thing about stinging nettle needles: they only impart their sting when the needles are whole. I’d discovered this feature in years past when chewing raw stinging nettle leaves to try to get a rise out of Susan The Tyrant.
Inevitably, when I’d make a show of stuffing a raw leaf or two in my mouth, she’d call me an idiot (much to my delight). However, I secretly knew how to fold and grind the leaves in my molars so they couldn’t sting me. Regardless, my displays of virile masculinity were deemed inadequate to win her praise.
Raw stinging nettle soup
This year, a big harvest basket full of stinging nettles plus a few remaining super-ripe Meyer lemons left on our potted citrus trees lead to the eureka moment… RAW stinging nettle soup.
We jokingly refer to our raw stinging nettle soup as Incredible Hulk soup, partly due to the bright green color and partly due to how good it makes you feel after you eat it!
Making this recipe only requires 5 ingredients and a blender (we highly recommend a Ninja blender). In other words, this recipe is super simple to make.
WARNING: We should make it clear that this recipe only uses the tender young leaves (not the stems) of early spring stinging nettle. As the weather warms, stinging nettle forms tiny flowers and seeds, and some people report GI distress from eating stinging nettle at this stage.
The taste of this raw stinging nettle soup recipe is delicious and fresh – almost like pesto crossed with gazpacho.
- The whole Meyer lemon provides an acid flavor and keeps the greens from oxidizing and turning brown. De-seed and toss the whole lemon in to your blender IF you have a good ripe Meyer lemon — or just use juice and zest if you don’t.
- The organic white miso paste provides salt and umami. (Our favorite white miso is Hikari.)
- The stinging nettle leavesprovide the soup’s body and primary flavor, which is like an earthy combination of cucumbers and spinach. (Again leaves only, since the stems can impart a fibrous, stringy texture even after blending.)
- The extra virgin olive oil provides additional body, depth, and richness.
Once you have your ingredients ready, here’s how to make raw stinging nettle soup:
Raw stinging nettle soup (seriously!)
Course:Side Dish, Soup
Keyword:raw stinging nettle, stinging nettle, stinging nettle recipe
Servings: 6
A delicious and simple raw stinging nettle soup that tastes like a cross between gazpacho and pesto. Nope, you won't get stung!
Ingredients
- 5cups stinging nettle leaves (no stems)Measured lightly packed, not loose.
- 1whole Meyer lemon, de-seededIf you don't have a really ripe Meyer lemon, just use zest and juice of your lemon, not pith.
- 1/2cuporganic white miso paste
- 2.5cupswater
- 1/4 cupextra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Wearing gloves, use kitchen scissors to remove stinging nettle leaves from stems. Compost the stems. Slice and de-seed lemon.
Place all ingredients into blender and blend until even consistency.
Serve immediately at room temperature or after cooled in fridge. Garnish with edible seasonal flowers, such as brassica flowers.
Mmm. Raw stinging nettle soup garnished with fresh edible flowers from the garden. Tastes like spring!
This time of year, we always have a big glass jar of stinging nettle soup in the fridge. It makes a great side dish with lunch or dinner and will load you up with lots of vitamins and nutrients. We hope you’ll learn to love stinging nettles as much as we do!
KIGI,
Other articles you’ll want to sink your teeth into:
- Stinging nettle pesto with green garlic
- Duck egg stinging nettle pasta with white whole wheat flour
- Stinging nettle quiche
- 16 edible weeds growing in your yard… with recipes!
- Why and how to grow stinging nettle in your garden
- Shade gardening: 50+ fruits, herbs, and veggies that grow in shade
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Aaron von Frank
Food explorer, seed & soil geek, duck evangelist, writer, health nut, and entrepreneur. In addition to their collaboration on Tyrant Farms, Aaron and his wife, Susan (aka "The Tyrant"), are cofounders of GrowJourney.com, which focuses on providing free educational resources for gardeners and small farmers interested in no-till organic food production. Aaron is the former farm manager at Oak Hill Cafe & Farm, a no-till, permaculture, farm-to-table restaurant & farm located right down the street from his alma mater, Furman University, in Greenville, SC. He also serves on the board of the Diversified Agriculture Committee for the South Carolina Farm Bureau.
