Foraged Nettle & Dandelion Soup Recipe
A wild spring greens recipe from the hedgerow
There's something deeply satisfying about turning seasonal "weeds" into comfort food. As spring arrives, young nettles and dandelions start to emerge everywhere, quiet reminders that the land is waking up.
This simple soup is a celebration of the early spring plants we so often overlook. Full of flavour and goodness. nettles and dandelions can be foraged from the hedgerow, the field edge, or even your own back garden.
Both nettles and dandelions are rich in vitamins A, C and K, as well as minerals including iron, magnesium and potassium.
A wild superfood is growing right outside your door.
This one starts in the hedgerow, not the supermarket.
you’ll need:
A large colander-full of young nettle tops and about a third as much of young dandelion leaves
Rubber gloves for picking the nettles
One white onion
A generous knob of butter
750ml vegetable stock
Double cream
A blender
Crusty sourdough bread to serve
Before you head to the kitchen, head outside.
1 | Forage
Get out and collect your nettles while they're just starting to grow, that's when they're at their sweetest and most tender. Put your rubber gloves on and pick just the tips of the nettles and the youngest dandelion leaves you can find.
2 | Wash
Wash your nettle tips and dandelion leaves thoroughly. Don't worry if you end up pulling out a little grass along the way, that's just the nature of foraging.
3 | Cook the base
Chop your onion while you melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, without letting it brown.
4 | Add the greens
Add your nettles and dandelions (use your rubber gloves for this so you don’t get stung) and put the lid on the pan. Let everything sweat on a low heat for around five minutes. When you lift the lid, the greens should have wilted right down.
5 | Simmer
Add the vegetable stock and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the stems to be fully broken down before blending.
6 | Blend
Blitz the soup until smooth. Return it to the pan and stir in a generous glug of double cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
7 | Serve
Ladle into bowls, add a swirl of cream to each serving, and bring to the table with generously buttered sourdough.
Foraged nettle soup is one of the oldest spring recipes there is, a reminder that wild food has always been there, free and in season if we slow down enough to notice it.
This is the kind of cooking that costs almost nothing and connects you to the land in the most direct way possible.
A bowl of something made entirely from scratch, from ingredients you gathered yourself. It doesn't get much better than that. 🥣
📍 Save to Pinterest for foraging season…
