Make the most of one of the season’s abundant and nutritious wild weeds with this easy soup recipe! Many people are scared to work with nettles, but they are quite easy to handle. Use gloves when harvesting to avoid getting stung. Ideally try to harvest young nettles, but if you gather more mature plants, just remove the thicker stems before cooking. (If you don’t want to forage your own nettles, you may find some clever farmers at your local market who are selling nettles that have infiltrated their fields.) Once nettles are cooked, they lose their stinging properties and are safe to handle and eat

Prep time: 45 mins–1 hour | Cook time: 40 minutes | Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower (~ 2 cups)
3 teaspoons melted ghee or avocado oil, divided
1 shallot, sliced
2 giant handfuls of nettles (leaves and tender stems)
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss cauliflower with 2 teaspoons ghee/oil and spread it in an even layer on a baking tray. Season cauliflower lightly with salt. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping it halfway through cooking. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a medium pot, sauté the shallot in the remaining ghee/oil over medium-high heat. When it just begins to brown, add the cauliflower and just enough water to cover the cauliflower. When the soup begins to simmer, stir in the nettles and cook for 2 minutes.

Blend the soup using an immersion (stick) blender, or carefully use a conventional blender. Salt the soup to taste and enjoy immediately.