Stinging Nettle (“urzici”) & Spinach Soup

This is one of those soups that you do really need after a long, cold, dark winter. Nettles contain so many vitamins and have so many health benefits that you might consider this a blood purifying elixir (and far more civilised than leeches). Apart from the obvious “pain” of picking them and then choosing nice young leaves there isn’t really much to it. The “sting” is deactivated by heat so dont expect a “fugu” like experience! However if pain is what you seek then a dose of “urtication” (flogging with nettles that was believed to relieve palsy and numbness of limbs) might be in order. Enough medieval medicine…this soup is definitely twenty first century and this version is gluten and dairy free.

We are very lucky that in Romania people still gather new season nettles and sell them in plastic bags at the market. Traditionally a puree is made much like (to me at least) the French “epinards aux oeufs” which is absolutely delicious. Now the problem with such virtuous food is that if you don’t do quite enough to it you are in danger of creating something that tastes like juiced roadside weeds. So I add quite a lot of onions and garlic, a generous amount of nutmeg and I thicken with potato or rice.

Ingredients

These are a guide and make quite a lot of soup. If you don’t have so many nettles use more spinach or throw in some courgettes or cabbage.

500g young nettles the stalks and anything that looks remotely “woody” removed

500g spinach – preferably proper spinach not baby spinach. cleaned and well rinsed of sand/earth if using the real thing

1-2 onions – I like a lot of onions

2-6 cloves of garlic. I go for the full 6.

nutmeg – approx 1 heaped teaspoon

a few sprigs of fresh thyme if you have

1 litre of vegetable stock (a good bio brand works well but so does some water, a bit of marmite and a little leftover wine)

1 large boiled potato or a cup of boiled white rice. If not GF sensitive some slices of old white bread gone stale.

I would suggest bay leaves as well but they will get lost in the green and blended bay leaves render the soup so bitter that its inedible. dont risk it! or write an anally retentive stickit on the kitchen wall to REMOVE BAY LEAVES before blending. personal experience and the bitter taste of (in this case literally).

Gadgets & Gizmos

A large saucepan and a hand held blender/ whatever blender you have

How To

Chop the onions up roughly (its going to be blended so no masterchef perfection required here). Fry them in a little oil gently until translucent. Now add the also roughly chopped garlic. do not let it brown.

Add the nettles and the liquid. Boil 2-3 minutes until the nettles are just cooked. Now throw on top the spinach leaves and let them wilt for a further 3-4 minutes. Stir through until the leaves are all floppy and “just cooked” in fact almost still raw.

Add your chosen starch – you dont have to – I just like my soups a bit more substantial.

Blend it!

Now season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Improvs & Ideas

I’ve served it with a chilli/red pepper oil in the photo but a simple drizzle of good olive oil is all thats needed really and a hunk of good bread.

Freezes well but what you want here is freshness and the joy of tasting new season’s produce

Farfalle with Parsley, Lemon & Walnut Pesto

The Parsley Pesto

This is a fabulous pesto to make in winter when parsley is abundant rather than pretending its summer and we are all “Mediterraneo” in January. It also packs a massive iron, B vits (folates and all that) and antioxidant punch too so very good for veggies too. Here I have made a pasta dish but this green and potent elixir is delish spread on crostini (OK lets admit it “toast” and a dab oh yes just a dab of mayonnaise too) and I have also massaged it into chicken breasts to great effect (but dont quote me on that).

I first tasted this when a friend made a version in Aegean Turkey and although skeptical I was blown away by the honest robust flavours and how it made the pasta sing. It has its origins in all those wonderful sauces from Turkey and the Caucasus that use walnuts such as the Turkish “tarator” and Georgian “Satsivi” as well as the Italian “Pesto di Noce”. I include preserved lemon too as i like the lemony flavour without the bitterness. If you do not have preserved lemons then juice one lemon and also zest it. Romanian walnuts are legendary and I particularly enjoy making this with the new season nuts. The best are always bought at the market and roasting not only develops the flavour but eradicates unwanted visitors hiding in the crevices!

This is one of those recipes that is not so much a recipe as a suggestion of ingredients that when combined create something magical.

Ingredients

Zest and juice of 1 lemon or half a preserved lemon skin only
Quite a lot of garlic – 5- 6 cloves
150g walnuts
2 large bunches of flat leaf parsley
Good olive oil
Salt & pepper

How To

Pesto

Blitz all the pesto ingredients together and pour into a jar. To vary the consistency add more or less oil until it is dropping consistency ie will drop off a spoon rather than stick to it when turned upside down.

Farfalle with Pesto & Green Beans/ Courgettes/ Broccoli

Cook your pasta according to the instructions (I like the bows for this recipe but I cant really explain why). I particularly love this recipe with green beans – they have an affinity with the parsley and garlic and they remind me of a dish I ate many years ago in the South of France that was garlic with green beans dressesd with olive oil…well of course it was haricots verts with garlic but you get my drift. Chop and cook the veggies until done but not mushy (Brocoli and courgettes also work just great).

Drain the pasta

Stir the pesto through the pasta (I like quite a lot of pesto but start with one tablespoon per person and adjust if it looks less than you like)

Stir through the veggies gently until also lightly coated

Serve in plates sprinkled with fresh parmesan

Shelf Life

As long as you cover with a little oil to seal the pesto and prevent oxidation this will sit happily in the fridge for approx 1 month. However it is at its best, most flavourful and the vitamins at their most potent when made fresh.

Improvs

I have actually made this recipe with almonds…I have added breadcrumbs when nut rations were low and have used sunflower oil, rapeseed oil and corn oil in place of olive oil. I have not used walnut oil although that might work when you run out of walnuts! as I prefer a hint of the walnuts as opposed to walnuts being the predominant flavour.

Brussel sprout & parmesan soup

If like me you were traumatized by school dinner boiled to death, mushy, rancid and a curious shade of muddy pink Brussel sprouts it might be time to revisit them on adult terms. I have recently been experimenting with them (almonds, pancetta and even chorizo thrown into a wok and stir fried) and am becoming a fan.

The trick is I think to stir fry them just until they are browning and caramelizing and this gives an amazing sweet taste that offsets the slightly sulphury compounds found in all brassicas and most importantly it cooks them so they retain their crunch. The addition of cream and parmesan to Brussel sprouts seems to be one of those food “holy trinities” – they go just brilliantly (also good is a gratin of Brussel sprouts with parmesanned breadcrumbs), and this soup uses that to great effect.

This recipe is one of those recipes that is more a guide than a list of quantities to be followed religiously. In these abstemious times it is good to have recipes that seem to be made for using up leftovers and in fact the version I made on Boxing Day this Christmas made full use of the left over gravy and bread sauce…in to the soup pan they went! I think I garnished with crispy bacon but it might have been a parsley drizzle. So here is a recipe with suitable improvs and substitutions thrown in:

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 medium onion chopped

2 or 3 roast potatoes or parsnips would be fine to add

1 liter of stock or left over gravy made up with water to 1 litre1.2l vegetable stock , made from a stock cube

600g pan fried until caramelized a little Brussel Sprouts (if using leftover sprouts then also do try and fry them to obtain this caramel taste)

Some cream, milk or leftover bread sauce – approx. 500ml

A little nutmeg and fresh thyme and a bay leaf

100g freshly grated parmesan (other strong cheese does work but I like the parmesan)

How To

Fry the sprouts in a wok until caramelized (helps to halve them) with the chopped onion. Add any other vegetables you are using when the Brussels are done.

Pour into a larger saucepan that is big enough to contain all the liquids. Add the stock/gravy and cream, a pinch of nutmeg, a bay leaf and two or three sprigs of fresh thyme.

Bring to the boil and when boiling switch off and add the parmesan. Now blitz with a hand blender. Add milk until you have the consistency that you require.

Note: it is worth making sure you use stock – a stock cube in a hurry never hurt anybody – as it deepens the flavor and help makes the dish taste like soup and not pureed vegetables.