nettle soup



nettle soup, originally uploaded by the weed one.

Bundanon, the place of the deep gullies..
Here for a 10 days collaborative experiment, joining science and art: Siteworks.
Co-convened by Michael Cohen, Deborah Ely and Fiona Winning, the laboratory brings together a host of disparate art practitioners and scientists, looking at water, landscape, ecology of the two and the soil beneath.
While here you are collaborating with your daughters, Allegra and Elena, to create a narrative-based reading of the landscape, themselves with drawings on photographs and little stories, yourself with the available botany and possible interpretations.
The culminating weekend will see a two days extravaganza of work in progress by artists, starting during the Saturday and going well in the night, to be followed by a more sober and structured forum which will see the science aspect being presented to the public, on Sunday.

During this preparation time you have been experimenting and cooking, providing the guest with new tools to read the environment with.
this recipe below has been much appreciated.

Stinging nettle soup

Serves 4

2 handfulls of young nettle tops and leaves
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 litre of vegetable stock
plain yogurt to garnish
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Clean the nettle, selecting the young tops and leaves, discard stalks and lesser leaves. Wear latex gloves for this exercise, as the nettles do sting! You can get used to the stinging but it would take a while, so, use gloves.

Wash the leaves+tops thoroughly and then blanch them for a couple of minutes.
In a big pot saute’ onion and garlic, then add the nettle, potatoes and stock.
Simmer until potatoes are tender, then process the soup to a very smooth consistency.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and then serve with a tablespoon of yogurt.
The bright green delicacy is a wonder food, containing when cooked vitamins A, C, D, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. The plant also contains 25% of protein.

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