“Nettles?!?” said my companion at dinner last night. “You’re cooking nettles? I’ve never heard of such a thing!” Well, yes, I am cooking nettles, making a classic French soup, a potage velouté, warm, rich with butter and crème fraiche, delectable and healthy too with the nettles my foraging friend Petra gathered for me last week. I call it “classic” because it recalls all those creamy vegetable soups that used to be served in France (and perhaps still are), not in the grand restaurants but in cozy neighborhood bistros and at the tables of simple country cooks. It is such an easy technique, especially with modern kitchen equipment, like food processors but even more like immersion blenders, which have become so essential in my own kitchen in recent years—easy to use, easy to clean up, a quick way to make something delicious and even rather elegant for dinner all year long.
I'm very fond of the sort of soup that you descibe. I just made one the other day after cutting the first batch of asparagus from our garden. Some of the spears were very long--12" or more. When I cut the bunch down to a consistent length, I had enough of the still tender remainders to make a batch of soup with chicken broth and sauteed leeks. Even my powerful Vitamix blender cannot make a totally smooth puree with all of the peel and fibrous ends of the stalks, so I sieved it to make it silky smooth. As far as fiddleheads go, the first time I ever ate them was at a wild food potluck when we lived in Vermont, where they were served with Hollandaise. I thought they were delicious. Now I don't want to go to all of the trouble to make Hollandaise, so I like to make fiddleheads en escabeche--a Mexican style quick pickle, with apple cider vinegar, garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin seeds, and jalapeños. Lightly steamed first and then a hot pickling mix poured over them, so they retain a bit of crunch.
What a wonderful treatise on nettles and ramps et al! I’ve unfortunately never seen a nettle or a ramp or a fiddlehead in central Mexico, although asparagus is in every supermarket here. I’m fondest of the thick variety, though, which is difficult to find. Spinach is also here by the bushel, both baby and large, but oddly it’s all flat-leafed, no curly.
I was thrilled to see reference to Cibrèo and its marvelous yellow pepper soup. I was privileged to be feted at Cibrèo in 1993, on my birthday, and the yellow pepper soup was a must. Once the internet became a reality, I searched for years, until one bright morning: OMG, Cibrèo’s divine soup!
I’ve made it ever since, and frequently, with the surprise of its potato, and often serve shots of it to guests as a pre-prandial delight.
Thank you for the reminder to prepare it soon. Like you, I depend on my immersion blender for a lot and of course it’s perfect for this return to an earlier time in Florence.
Slivered - I must steal that word from you. Lovely recipe
sublime...I have asparagus in the frig though the poors things seem a bit plebian compared to foraged nettles! xo
I'm very fond of the sort of soup that you descibe. I just made one the other day after cutting the first batch of asparagus from our garden. Some of the spears were very long--12" or more. When I cut the bunch down to a consistent length, I had enough of the still tender remainders to make a batch of soup with chicken broth and sauteed leeks. Even my powerful Vitamix blender cannot make a totally smooth puree with all of the peel and fibrous ends of the stalks, so I sieved it to make it silky smooth. As far as fiddleheads go, the first time I ever ate them was at a wild food potluck when we lived in Vermont, where they were served with Hollandaise. I thought they were delicious. Now I don't want to go to all of the trouble to make Hollandaise, so I like to make fiddleheads en escabeche--a Mexican style quick pickle, with apple cider vinegar, garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin seeds, and jalapeños. Lightly steamed first and then a hot pickling mix poured over them, so they retain a bit of crunch.
BTW, our NY nettles definitely sting—as I once discovered while wearing shorts.
Lovely read, Nancy. Thank you for the reminder of Fabio's yellow pepper soup. And I heartily concur with you in the subject of fiddleheads!
Lovely post. I used nettles this week in a lasagne bolognese and a saag paneer.
What a wonderful treatise on nettles and ramps et al! I’ve unfortunately never seen a nettle or a ramp or a fiddlehead in central Mexico, although asparagus is in every supermarket here. I’m fondest of the thick variety, though, which is difficult to find. Spinach is also here by the bushel, both baby and large, but oddly it’s all flat-leafed, no curly.
I was thrilled to see reference to Cibrèo and its marvelous yellow pepper soup. I was privileged to be feted at Cibrèo in 1993, on my birthday, and the yellow pepper soup was a must. Once the internet became a reality, I searched for years, until one bright morning: OMG, Cibrèo’s divine soup!
I’ve made it ever since, and frequently, with the surprise of its potato, and often serve shots of it to guests as a pre-prandial delight.
Thank you for the reminder to prepare it soon. Like you, I depend on my immersion blender for a lot and of course it’s perfect for this return to an earlier time in Florence.