This is what isolation does to me. I print off the Globe & Mail’s giant crossword and I make soup. And I garden. I’ve basically hit menopause without the hot flashes and minus 20 or so years.
I spent an hour pulling stinging nettle out of a community garden plot one morning and while most of it was composted (broke my heart a little), I took a couple heaping handfuls to make soup. The traditional way is with potatoes, like a leek and potato or sorrel and potato variation. But I had (sustainable) shrimp in the freezer taking up space and some cooked Yukon Golds, so I heated up some homemade chicken stock, added the shrimp and nettles, simmered them a few minutes until the nettles were soft, then added some cooked, boiled potatoes that I’d chopped into large chunks. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
But calling it easy would be a lie. Because stinging nettle is an appropriate name. Even with gardening gloves on and long sleeves, the plant poked me all over and my whole forearms and hands stung for a day. It’s like a burning feeling without the heat, or mosquito bites without the itch.
Since you need to take all the leaves off the stems, it’s labour intensive. These were big stalks that were trying to poke me in the face. Yes, plants can be malevolent. And good luck finding stinging nettle in grocery stores. Most farmer’s markets won’t even have them. Most people think of it as as weed, but it’s a forager’s dream come true (well, one with industrial gloves and full body protection). If you can’t find them, just replace them with spinach, kale, collard greens, sorrel or pretty much any tough green (beet greens and radish greens work too as long as they’re de-stemmed).
Why bother looking for stinging nettle? They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, all of the essential amino acids, and polyphenols. They can also help reduce hay fever and seasonal allergy symptoms, apparently.
Shrimp, Stinging Nettle and Potato Soup
Serves 2
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 lb frozen sustainable shrimp
2 cups (or more) stinging nettle leaves
2 Yukon gold potatoes, boiled, peeled and roughly chopped in chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring the broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add the shrimp and nettles and bring back to a simmer, then reduce heat for a couple minutes until shrimp are pink and nettles are soft. Stir in cooked potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Photo of stinging nettle by Paul M on Unsplash.
Photo of soup by Amie Watson.
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