Saturday saw us exploring under the guidance of Nenya and Dr Richard Milne to find out how many wonderfully edible plants are growing wild all around us. Despite a rather damp day none of us got too wet as we tramped round gathering a surprising number of edibles - including Lime leaves (from Lime trees, but not the sort that grow lime fruit!), which in my humble opinion are much nicer than lettuce in a
salad; also nettles (easy if you have a pair of barbecue tongs it turns out!); and even goose-grass or sticky willie (who knew that was edible?) – and these were just a few of our discoveries!
Our little harvest was brought back to Liberton Kirk Centre and transformed, with the addition of some other veg, into a very appetising lunch – including soup, stir fry and salad. All our findings were of
Our little harvest was brought back to Liberton Kirk Centre and transformed, with the addition of some other veg, into a very appetising lunch – including soup, stir fry and salad. All our findings were of
course thoroughly washed and the goose grass went through a blender before it went in the soup.
For those who are interested, the soup recipe below is included below.
Forager's Nettle Soup
For a 2-2.5 litre pot you'll need:
- a little oil (olive, rapeseed, sunflower etc.)
- 2-3 medium carrots, chopped into small enough chunks for frying;
- 2-3 onions (same);
- 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled or scrubbed clean and chopped into small pieces;
- 1.5 litres of boiling water
- 2 heaped tablespoons bouillon powder (I use Marigold organic)
- 1 tomato, chopped into small cubes
- a good handful of fresh washed nettle leaves (use only young nettle tips before they flower, and cut away most of the stalk as it is too tough). Leave them whole if you are going to puree your soup, but chop thinly if making a chunky soup.
- any other greens that are good to eat in a soup such as young cleavers (chop with an electric chopper before adding to soup), ramsons, sorrel, sweet cicely, or ribwort plantain.
Heat oil in a pot, and fry onions until soft, then add carrots and fry for a further 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Top with boiling water and tip in potatoes. Cover and bring to the boil and add bouillon. Turn down a bit and let simmer until potatoes are almost ready, then add the tomato, and after a couple of minutes all your greens. Stir through, bring to the boil once again, and turn off the heat. Adjust seasoning if necessary, and puree if pureeing.
Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream if you fancy it.
The soup freezes well and will keep in a cool place for a couple of days.
For those who are interested, the soup recipe below is included below.
Forager's Nettle Soup
For a 2-2.5 litre pot you'll need:
- a little oil (olive, rapeseed, sunflower etc.)
- 2-3 medium carrots, chopped into small enough chunks for frying;
- 2-3 onions (same);
- 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled or scrubbed clean and chopped into small pieces;
- 1.5 litres of boiling water
- 2 heaped tablespoons bouillon powder (I use Marigold organic)
- 1 tomato, chopped into small cubes
- a good handful of fresh washed nettle leaves (use only young nettle tips before they flower, and cut away most of the stalk as it is too tough). Leave them whole if you are going to puree your soup, but chop thinly if making a chunky soup.
- any other greens that are good to eat in a soup such as young cleavers (chop with an electric chopper before adding to soup), ramsons, sorrel, sweet cicely, or ribwort plantain.
Heat oil in a pot, and fry onions until soft, then add carrots and fry for a further 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Top with boiling water and tip in potatoes. Cover and bring to the boil and add bouillon. Turn down a bit and let simmer until potatoes are almost ready, then add the tomato, and after a couple of minutes all your greens. Stir through, bring to the boil once again, and turn off the heat. Adjust seasoning if necessary, and puree if pureeing.
Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream if you fancy it.
The soup freezes well and will keep in a cool place for a couple of days.