Everyone knows that nettle is a weed. But it has healing properties and is recommended both for external use and for oral use. Nettle, cooked in combination with sorrel, is a source of vitamins and minerals necessary to restore and maintain health.
Nettle and sorrel soup : benefits for the body
In folk medicine, "stinging" nettles have been used for a long time. With this plant, blood was stopped and wounds healed quickly. But nettle is no less useful for internal use. In the spring, when the body suffers from a lack of vitamins, young stems of this plant will help make up for their deficiency. Nettle contains ascorbic acid, B vitamins, carotene.
In folk medicine, nettle is used as an effective blood purifier. It contributes to an increase in the number of red blood cells, is useful for anemia, and quickly increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood. It is proved that this "burning" plant is useful in any form. You can make infusions and decoctions from it, add to salads or cook nettle and sorrel soup, the recipe of which is inherited in many families.
The beneficial properties of nettle are even stronger when combined with sorrel. This plant was also once considered a weed. But later it was proved that sorrel is a source of iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamins C and group B. It is widely used in cooking. The most popular dish from this plant is green cabbage soup. But it will be much tastier and healthier if you make soup from nettle and sorrel. Such a vitamin first course will surely appeal to even the most demanding gourmets.
How to choose nettles for soup
Nettle is a “burning” plant, on the leaves of which there are special hairs. It is in contact with them that small burns appear on the skin, disappearing after a short time. After the plant is picked, the burning hairs will cease to be dangerous. Nettle should be collected away from highways, street yards and city squares. You should choose young shoots with a length of not more than 20 cm. Both the stems of the plant and its leaves are suitable for use and useful.
Ingredient preparation
Sorrel is a more popular and common plant in cooking. For cooking, its leaves are used. They are washed thoroughly, cut into small pieces and added to soups at the end of cooking.
Nettle
used in cooking is much less common. To completely get rid of
formic acid, due to which burns remain on the skin, you need to scald it with boiling water before use. Further, the plant is used to prepare any dishes.
How to cook nettle and sorrel
soup can be found in the recipes below.
Russian cabbage soup with nettles
This is the classic way to cook spring soup with nettles and sorrel. It is recommended to strictly adhere to the recipe and cook it with a beef shovel. Only in this case the cabbage soup will turn out to be really tasty. Nettle and sorrel soup, the recipe of which is offered below, is a dish served in restaurants of traditional Russian cuisine.
The sequence of preparation of Russian cabbage soup with nettles:
- Beef scoop (1 kg) pour 4 liters of water, add 1 head of onion and one whole carrot. Cook the broth for 2 hours over low heat.
- After the specified time, remove the meat, cool, remove from the bone, cut into portions, and strain the broth.
- Hard boil 8 eggs. Cool and cut into large cubes.
- In a frying pan in vegetable oil, fry the carrots, diced, and onions, chopped in the form of half rings. Then add chopped nettle and sorrel (400 g each). Pour the vegetables and greens with broth and simmer for 10 minutes under the lid.
- Dice potatoes. Send to boil in a pot with broth for 20 minutes.
- When the potatoes are cooked, add stewed vegetables with nettles and sorrel to it. Salt, pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Nettle and sorrel soup is ready. Serve with sliced beef shredded into portions, boiled eggs and sour cream.
- Enjoy your meal!
This is a folk version of how to cook nettle and sorrel soup . Below are other interesting recipes for this dish.
Nettle and sorrel puree soup without potatoes
Young nettle is a source of vitamins and beneficial elements. Therefore, it is necessary to include dishes with it in your diet. How to cook nettle and sorrel soup?
Half a kilo of young nettle, pour over boiling water. Immediately after this, throw it into a colander and substitute it under cold water to preserve the bright green color of the plant. Then fry finely chopped onion, nettle and 400 g of sorrel in vegetable oil in vegetable oil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
While dressing is being stewed, prepare a “thickener” for mashed soup. To do this, fry the flour in two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Salt, pepper. Add a liter of hot water, 5 egg yolks and 150 ml of sour cream. Constantly stir the soup, not allowing it to boil. Beat hot soup with a blender and garnish with finely chopped parsley. It will be delicious to serve the soup with crackers or croutons.
Light sorrel and nettle soup with egg
Preparing a delicious nettle soup with sorrel will not be difficult if you follow a certain sequence.
- Prepare 500 g of nettle. To do this, rinse it with boiling water and leave it in hot water for a couple of minutes. After this, grind the nettles in a blender, transfer to a pan and simmer with butter for 5 minutes.
- Grind onions, carrots and parsley root and fry in vegetable oil.
- Boil 3 liters of water in a saucepan. Add diced potatoes, and after 10 minutes - vegetable dressing and nettle.
- At this time, prepare the sauce from a tablespoon of flour, 60 g of butter, two tablespoons of sour cream and 50 ml of water.
- Prepare 400 g of sorrel: sort it out and chop finely.
- After 15 minutes from the beginning of boiling potatoes, add flour sauce and sorrel to the soup. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Put bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Hard boil 3 eggs. Cool, chop coarsely.
- Add eggs to the soup, let it boil and immediately remove from heat.
Sorrel and nettle soup with egg is ready!
Recipe for Lean Beetroot Soup with Nettle and Sorrel
Even in strict fasting, you can make a diet varied. Another option for preparing the first course is beetroot soup.
To cook it, you will need 2 liters of water, a couple of potato tubers, 2 beets, 2 onions, medium carrots, 200 grams of young nettle and sorrel, vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons, salt, pepper to taste.
How to cook nettle and sorrel soup?
Boil water. Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes and send it to the pot to cook. Peeled vegetables - onions, beets and carrots - must be cut into strips. Fry alternately in vegetable oil. Then add some water and put out a vegetable dressing under the lid for 5-10 minutes. After the specified time, transfer the fried mass from the pan to the pan. Salt, pepper, cook for 10 minutes. At the end of cooking add finely chopped nettles and sorrel. Beetroot soup is ready. Enjoy your meal!