Lentil and Nettle Soup: Stinging Nettle Benefits & Recipe
Warm and comforting, with a delicate, complex, yet hardy broth, this stinging nettle soup is filled with green lentils, carrots, onions, fresh stinging nettles (of course) and seasoned with miso and mushroom. The stinging nettles themselves add a lovely aromatic, herbaceous tone to the broth, which is the central focus of this soup. The super nutritious nettles with all sorts of potential health benefits make this a wonderful foraged meal and a great way to greet Spring.
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Identifying Stinging Nettles
Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
Stinging nettles are not the easiest plant to identify, but with careful observation (and maybe a finger prick or two) identification is very much achievable. Stinging nettles begin appearing on the East coast in the early Spring (where I am in Massachusetts, usually April). They grow alongside rivers and roads, in fields and wetlands. They’re usually very plentiful. Stinging nettles grow in clusters, and as the summer goes on they can reach 8 feet tall. The leaves are somewhat heart shaped with jagged edges, and face opposite each other along the stalk. Younger plants might be somewhat purple or dark green and very tender, while older plants are a lighter green and will become more tough. They’re also covered with small hairs, which can act like tiny needles, injecting you with chemicals and causing the “sting” for which they are named.
Handling Nettles without Getting Stung
Why on earth would you ever eat something known to sting? Great question. Before we get to the benefits of stinging nettles, I want to go over how you can handle stinging nettles without getting stung, and if you do get stung, what you can do. Cooking, drying, as well as some other processing techniques allow stinging nettles to be eaten safely, without the fear of being stung. For this stinging nettle soup we boil our nettles, which renders their sting harmless. While cooking and harvesting though, wear gloves and be careful not to touch the nettles with your bare flesh. While a prick pr two will sting a little, a handful of nettles will be fairly painful. If you do accidentally end up with a rash from the stinging nettles, the remedy is time. While you wait, you can wash gently with soap and cool water to relieve some pain, as well as using juice from the jewelweed plant (which often grows near nettles).
Stinging Nettle Benefits
Stinging nettles are a highly nutritious, making them a super healthy vegetable option. Stinging nettles are low in calories and fat and cholesterol free. Stinging nettles have high amounts of iron and calcium, as well as containing potassium and silica. When it comes to vitamins, stinging nettles won’t be found lacking. A single cup contains three times the vitamin A recommended per day, and is also high in Vitamins C, K, and a few B vitamins. Add in antioxidants and other micronutrients, and it’s safe to say that nettles are a nutritional powerhouse. While research is a little sparse, there is some evidence that the benefits of nettles go beyond nutrition. Different studies have shown that stinging nettles can reduce seasonal allergies, reduce inflammation, help with iron deficiency, treat enlarged prostate symptoms, lower blood pressure, help control blood sugars, and more.
Stinging Nettle Tea
While the young leaves of stinging nettles are the most tender and what I used for this stinging nettle soup, older leaves can be dried and kept for making stinging nettle tea. Drying, like cooking, will remove the sting from the nettles. If you’re not a foraging type, but still want some of the health benefits of stinging nettles, you can actually buy the leaves dried and make it into stinging nettle tea. The tea is especially common to use to help alleviate seasonal allergies.
The Beauty of Brothy Soups- Making Stinging Nettle Soup
Brothy soups are my favorite- they are all about adding rich flavors, that delicately weave in and out to create a magical broth experience. I’m more or less obsessed. The real secret to making a delicious broth is by adding your ingredients slowly, and giving each a little time to cook, creating a more layered flavor. For example, you could just chuck the onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger all in with the lentils, and bring to a boil, and the soup would be cooked, but it wouldn’t be as good as if you take the time to sauté each of the ingredients, adding one at a time before adding the lentils. I also use a bay leaf and a shiitake mushroom to make a more flavorful broth. The miso and stinging nettles also add more elements of flavor.
Like Brothy Soup? Try one of these!
- Sour Japanese Knotweed Soup
- Christmas Lima Bean Soup
- Easy Minestrone Soup with Beets
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Lentil, Chestnut Mushrooms and Amaranth Winter Soup
Stinging Nettle and Lentil Miso Soup
Ingredients
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 dried shiitake
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. dried dulse powder
- 1/3 cup green lentils
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups of loosely packed stinging nettle tips or leaves, rinsed
- 2 tbsp. miso paste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a small amount of olive oil to a large or medium-sized pot. Add your onion and sauté for a minute or so before adding the garlic and ginger. After a couple more minutes add the carrot. Let cook for about two more minutes, and then add the shiitake, bay leaves and dulse powder. Stir, and add the lentils, stirring to coat them in the oil.
- Pour in your broth, cover the pot, and bring up to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Allow to simmer until the lentils are cooked (20-30 minutes, or more, depending on your lentils). Add the nettles and cook for three more minutes, until tender. Turn off the heat, and the miso paste and stir until totally dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove the shiitake and bay leaf and serve.
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Let’s hear from you…
- What other stinging nettle benefits?
- How do you enjoy eating nettles the most?
- What are your favorite brothy soups? Or are you more of a fan of creamy soup?
Share your thoughts in the comments below
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This looks super tasty!! I can’t wait to give it a try! It’s all delicious ingredients 🙂
Thanks Roslia!
I don’t have any fresh nettle! Can I use dried and what would the amount be then?
Thans!
Hi Tiffany, I’ve never tried this with dried nettles, so I don’t know how exactly it would work.
I would recommend adding about a tablespoon of the dried nettles when you put in the broth, tasting and adding more until it has a good flavor.
I would also suggest adding a couple cups of spinach at the end just to get the greens back in.
Let us know how it turns out!
Thank you! I will try it soon and let you know!
i just went to cut some nettles and prepared the dish with soaked red lentils. just like spinach 🙂
So glad you enjoyed!