November 13, 2010

Stinging Nettle Soup, aka "Supa ot Kopriva" or "Супа от Коприва"

Words cannot describe how much I like nettle soup and how excited I was today when I saw fresh nettle leaves at the farmers market... I went CRAZY!!! I ran to the ATM to get some cash and got myself a bag of fresh stinging nettle leaves and as soon as I got home I started cooking. Last time I had nettle soup was in 2006 when I went back to Bulgaria and my grandma made it for me. I have been craving it ever since and today I finally had some of this amazingly delicious soup. The flavor is very unique and nutty and it just tastes so so good.



 
INGREDIENTS:
  • 1lb fresh nettle leaves, stems removed, washed well and chopped
  • 3 - 4 small carrots, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup white rice
  • 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
  • some feta cheese to garnish
  • salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika to taste

In a large boiling pot sauté the onions and garlic in some olive oil until soft and translucent. Then add the carrots and cook for 5 min until soft.

Then add the chopped nettle leaves and cook about 5 min, or until all the water is released (nettle leaves behave like spinach and will pretty much evaporate upon cooking so do not get alarmed if the 1 lb of leaves seems too much) and season with salt, black pepper, red pepper and some cayenne pepper.

Then add water (add little by little until you reach a desired consistency), the rice and the walnuts and bring to a boil and cook for ~ 15 minutes, or until the rice is ready.


Serve as is or with crumbled feta and a spoon of plain yogurt and ENJOY!




2 comments:

  1. Yumm! Love kopriva! Wish we had some at our FM today.

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  2. Nettle soup has long been a favorite of me too, but in Sweden we use a different (arguably simpler) recipe. No carrot, onion or walnuts; just nettles, some cream, and the stock of your choice (+ salt/pepper of course). It's then served with boiled eggs, not feta or yogurt

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