WILD NETTLE SOUP

I make this soup every springtime when nettles appear in the garden. I love eating with the seasons - nothing connects us to nature in quite the same way - so take a walk on the wild side & get foraging. Remember to wear gloves or you will get stung! And no, don't worry the soup won't "sting" you when you eat it. Cooking the nettles renders them harmless.
Nettles are so good for us - packed full of nutrients & said to help a number of various conditions ranging from eczema to arthritis.
My mum turned her nose up at the idea of taste testing this soup & deemed it "too green" for her. However after a little persuasion.......she tried it & loved it! Success!

serves 2
400 ml stock  chicken, or vegetable, from a cube or homemade (I used homemade chicken)
50 g fresh stinging nettles
75 g leek  (white part of the leek)
100 g sweet potato
light olive oil (or other cooking oil)

1 Chop up the leek & sauté in a frying pan with a little butter or olive oil, until softened and starting to brown.
2 Transfer the leeks to a saucepan. Chop up the sweet potato & add to the pan with the nettles (wearing your gloves so you don't get stung.) Then add the stock and bring to the boil.
3 Reduce the heat & simmer until the sweet potato is soft & cooked.
4 Allow to cool a bit & then blitz in a blender. If it's too thick add a little more stock.