Some days you just need a healing, warming, simple soup. This soup only has a 7 ingredients, including the quintesential herbal ally of the Wise Woman tradition, stinging nettles.
Last year I purchased a pound of dried stinging nettles and I've been slowly making my way through the bag making nourishing herbal infusions. But to be honest, I NEVER remember to make them, so I just have tons of this beautiful dried herb sitting in containers slowly turning to dust.
At the moment, my husband and I are working on saving for a down payment on a house, and we have a beautiful newborn daughter who happens to be a little more expensive than we thought she would be. So, my new job along with being a new mama, wife, and the bits of work I get doing freelance art and teaching, is figuring out how to make our budget stretch and make room for more savings. My mother is doing the same as she has decided to retire early, which is wonderful to have a partner in this money-saving healthy-living adventure! A couple weekends ago she invited us to go apple picking at a farm up in the Shenandoah valley, and we came home with a bunch of apples and a ton of potatoes. Everything was very discounted since we went on their last open day of the season! Perfect timing, no?
Anyways, last night I was trying to figure out what to make with the potatoes so I turned to one of my all time favorite cookbooks, The Soup Bible, (which I picked up in the bargain section of Barnes & Noble over 10 years ago) and found the recipe for Nettle Soup. It was so simple, I had all the necessary ingredients to make a vegan version. While putting together the soup I was becoming less and less enthused. By the time I added the entire ounce of stinging nettles, I was positive I had just wasted a ton of food and morosely told my husband he should just find something else to eat because dinner was going to be gross. I realized the recipe called for an ounce of fresh nettles before de-stemming, and I had just added an ounce of dried! That was probably at least twice as much as the recipe needed! But I added a bit more potato, a bit more broth, and let it simmer a bit longer, and to my surprise, an hour later I discovered I actually had a quite yummy, nourishing, and husband approved soup ready for dinner!
So here is the recipe for Vegan Nettle & Potato Soup!
Vegan Nettle and Potato Soup Adapted from The Soup Bible
Serves 4
1/4 cup Earth Balance
3 cups chopped onions
3 cups potatoes, cut into chunks
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 to 1 ounce dried nettle leaves
1/2 cup plain unsweetened organic non-dairy milk (I like WestSoy soy milk)
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
Melt earth balance in a large soup pot, add the onions, cover, and cooks for about 5 minutes until onions are soft.
Add 2 cups of the potatoes and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the dried nettle leaves, cover, and let cook for another 25 minutes or until the nettles are very soft.
Stir in the soymilk and season with salt and paper to taste. Serve with a fresh, crusty loaf of bread.
Let me know if you tried this recipe, or if you have any other ways you like to use dried nettles!
