Sisnu Ko Saag

Ingredients

• 8¾ ozNettle leavesyoung, washed, stripped from the stems
• 1Onionfinely diced, sweated as the base
• 10½ ozPotatoesfloury, diced; thickens the soup
• 3¾ cupsVegetable brothfor deglazing and filling up
• 2 tbspgheefor sweating; butter or oil as an alternative
• ½ cupCreamstirred in at the end to enrich
• 2 clovesGarlicfinely diced, sweated with the onion
• Saltto taste
• pepperto taste
• 1 pinchNutmegfreshly grated, to taste (optional)
• 1 tspCuminlet sizzle in the hot fat (optional)
• 1 tspGingerfinely chopped, with onion and garlic (optional)
• ½ tspTurmericfor colour and seasoning (optional)
• 5¼ ozTomatochopped, simmered until soft (optional)
• Garam masalaa dash at the end (optional)
• ½ cupCoconut milkinstead of cream (optional)
• 3Ciabattaslices, diced and toasted in butter as croutons (optional)

Method

1. Wash the nettle leaves thoroughly, strip them from the stems and chop them roughly — ideally wear gloves for this. Finely dice the onion and garlic, and finely chop the ginger if you are using it.
2. Heat the ghee in a wide pot. If you like, let the cumin seeds sizzle in it first until they smell fragrant.
3. Sweat the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat until translucent, without letting them take on colour. If you want, stir in the turmeric and add the chopped tomatoes, letting them cook down until soft.
4. Add the diced potatoes and fry them along for a minute or two, then add the chopped nettle leaves and let them steam until they have collapsed completely.
5. Pour in the vegetable broth, season with salt and let everything simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
6. Take the pot off the heat and blend the soup smooth with a stick blender.
7. Stir in the cream, warm it through briefly and season with salt and pepper, adding freshly grated nutmeg if you like. For the spiced version, stir in a dash of garam masala instead.
8. Ladle hot into warmed bowls and serve, if you like, with a spoon of crème fraîche and ciabatta croutons toasted in butter.

Tips and variations

For the Himalayan way, blanch the leaves first, purée them and cook them down with cumin, ginger, turmeric, tomatoes and garam masala into a thick saag — served with steamed rice or corn bread and a spoon of butter on top. As a European-style puréed soup it stays with potatoes, broth and nutmeg; for something lighter, leave out the potatoes and blend only nettles, broth and coconut milk. Cream, crème fraîche, milk or coconut milk all work equally well for enriching it — and the ciabatta croutons go into the bowl only just before serving, so they stay crisp.