Nettle soup
Serves 6
Knob of butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1½ ltr vegetable stock
1 handful of spinach
3-4 handfuls of young nettles, well
washed
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Crème fraîche, to serve
Toasted seeds, to serve1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan,
then add the onion, celery, garlic
and bay leaves and sweat down
for a couple of mins.
2 Add the potatoes and stock and
simmer for 30 mins until the potatoes
are cooked through.
3 Add the spinach and most of the
nettles (saving a handful for deep
frying later), then return the soupTaken from Giffords Circus Cookbook:
Recipes & Stories from a Magical Circus
Restaurant by Nell Gifford & Ols Halas
(Quadrille). Photography: David Loftusto the boil and remove from the heat.
Allow to cool for a few mins before
transferring to a blender. Whizz
the soup until smooth, and season
with salt and pepper to taste.
4 Pour a couple of centimetres of
vegetable oil into a small, heavy-
based saucepan. Heat the oil over
a medium heat until a small cube
of bread dropped into it turns golden
in about 15 secs (about 180C on a
cooking thermometer). Deep-fry
the reserved nettle leaves until they
are dark green and just crisp, being
careful to shield your eyes as the
hot oil can spit with some ferocity.
5 Drain on kitchen paper, then drop
into the soup with a drizzle of crème
fraîche and some toasted seeds.Nettle soup
Serves 6
Knob of butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1½ ltr vegetable stock
1 handful of spinach
3-4 handfuls of young nettles, well
washed
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Crème fraîche, to serve
Toasted seeds, to serve
1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan,
then add the onion, celery, garlic
and bay leaves and sweat down
for a couple of mins.
2 Add the potatoes and stock and
simmer for 30 mins until the potatoes
are cooked through.
3 Add the spinach and most of the
nettles (saving a handful for deep
frying later), then return the soup
Taken from Giffords Circus Cookbook:
Recipes & Stories from a Magical Circus
Restaurant by Nell Gifford & Ols Halas
(Quadrille). Photography: David Loftusto the boil and remove from the heat.
Allow to cool for a few mins before
transferring to a blender. Whizz
the soup until smooth, and season
with salt and pepper to taste.
4 Pour a couple of centimetres of
vegetable oil into a small, heavy-
based saucepan. Heat the oil over
a medium heat until a small cube
of bread dropped into it turns golden
in about 15 secs (about 180C on a
cooking thermometer). Deep-fry
the reserved nettle leaves until they
are dark green and just crisp, being
careful to shield your eyes as the
hot oil can spit with some ferocity.
5 Drain on kitchen paper, then drop
into the soup with a drizzle of crème
fraîche and some toasted seeds.