Nettle Soup

A spring soup from Turkey's Black Sea and Aegean kitchens: fresh stinging nettles cooked with rice, thickened with yogurt and topped with chili butter.

Ingredients

• 300 g stinging nettle (fresh)
• 100 g onion
• 50 g (1/4 cup) white rice (raw)
• 30 g butter
• 15 g (1 tbsp) olive oil
• 150 g whole milk yogurt
• 15 g (2 tbsp) white flour
• 1300 g (5 1/2 cups) hot water
• 8 g (1.5 tsp) salt
• 2 g red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. 1

   Wearing gloves, pick the leaves and tender tips off the nettles, wash well in plenty of water, drain and chop finely. Chop the onion; rinse and drain the rice.

2. 2

   Melt the olive oil and 20 g of the butter in a pot and cook the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.

3. 3

   Add the nettles and stir for 3-4 minutes until wilted. Add the hot water, rice and salt; bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is very soft.

4. 4

   Whisk the yogurt and flour in a bowl until smooth. Temper it with a few ladles of the soup, then pour it into the pot while stirring constantly and simmer 5 more minutes.

5. 5

   Melt the remaining 10 g butter in a small pan, add the pepper flakes and take it off the heat after 30 seconds.

6. 6

   Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with the chili butter and serve hot.

Nutrition

Per serving