Creamed Nettles {Gream Soup}

Photo by Greg Fewer

Every spring I like to try something new from the yard, this year I tried the stinging nettles, I've been wanting to for long while. Nettles are very high in minerals, especially, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, and iodine. They also provide chlorophyll and they're a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and B complex vitamins. Nettles have high levels of easily absorbable amino acids. They're ten percent protein, more than any other vegetable. They are also very easy to recognize, seeing as how they STING you.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/4+ cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1+ cup milk (as needed)
• soup pot full of nettle leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• (optional) onions, mushrooms, zucchini, can of corn, leaks, cooked potatoes or yams, dash nutmeg, lemon pepper, cayenne, other herbs

Preparation:

Nettles: pick lots of leaves, spring of fall is best. wear gloves, wash & chop. Fill the pot with leaves wet from washing, cover, low heat for 10-20 min 'til leaves are wilted. next I put them in the blender with more water (1 cup) if needed, if I have zucchini, mushrooms, or other veggies I steam them with the nettles and put them in the blender, too, but I put the onion into the blender raw.

while steaming the nettles I melt the butter over low heat. Then blending the flour till smooth. Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add blended nettles and veggies. Corn can be added now. Cover and cook stirring occasionally, until hot. Season with salt, pepper, and others of choice. let cool, serve.

My husband said it was good but tasted/smelled like fish, not sure where that came from?

The kids helped me pick the nettles so there were stems and even some roots nothing I had read said to just use the leaves so I left them in, BIG MISTAKE the stems didn't blend well so when I was eating I had to keep pulling out fibers and woody stems, and when carefully washing I must have missed a root or two because there was dirt in it... yum :/

But I thought the flavor was very good {I had 3 bowls} and would like to make it again.