Welsh Country - Issue93 - Mar-Apr 20

Spring Herb Soup
by Ann Pettifer
It is dreary January as I write, but as soon as there’s a
moment of sunshine, I can hear the great tit making its singsong
call from the ashes by the road. It’s the first, round here
at least, to start its New Year song, calling to its mate, keen to
get going with the family business. Last week I heard a song
thrush in full flow, below the castle at Llansteffan. Come
the middle of February, there will be a lot of busyness in the
native small bird world, as they hurry to bag nest sites before
the migrants arrive.
March through to June is the best time for foraging for
wild edible leaves, as they start to flourish long before we
have anything cultivated that’s ready to eat (apart of course
from purple sprouting broccoli).
Nettles start to get going in March. Now you may think
it’s odd to be eating such a difficult weed, but as soon as you
cook the leaves, in just enough water to stop them sticking to
the pan, they lose their sting. I go out with kitchen scissors,
and a colander, and I just cut the top two leaves, the bigger
and greener the better, and let them drop into the colander.
Once it’s full, I’ve enough for a nice soup (+ onion, potato,
& stock) or nettle fritters (cooked down, chopped fine, +
flour, & egg) to be fried in whatever fat you like (animal
fats are becoming rehabilitated, health-wise) or just as a
green vegetable with a knob of butter. Now this is the thing
about wild greens: there’s nothing better for you. They are
bursting with vitamins and minerals. They are not sprayed
with chemicals, or molly-coddled in plastic tunnels. In rural
France, people go out picking edible greens – dandelions
especially – in early spring because they think it’s a pick-meup
at the end of Winter. I think they are right.
Another lovely, easy to identify plant is wild sorrel. It’s
lance-shaped, bright green leaves taste like a sharp lemon,
and they will cook down in seconds, to make a thick, tasty
sauce, great with fish. They make a nice soup too. Beware
tho’ – don’t mistake them for Lords and Ladies (cuckoo
pint) which also have very green, lance-shaped leaves. Once
you have learnt to identify sorrel, it will be a part of your
cooking forever. Sorrel is a classic hedgerow plant, and it
flourishes in profusion, especially along the frost-free coast
path. Jack-by-the-hedge is also called Hedge Garlic. If you
pinch one of its heart-shaped leaves, like green silk, you will
smell why. The leaves give a nice tang in a salad. He shoots
up in no time in early May, two foot high in a week, topped
with a creamy spray of tiny four-petal flowers.
The young leaves of wild garlic are mild enough to be
eaten – well, just about – but they really are best in a soup.
My favorite spring herb soup has sorrel, nettles, wild garlic,
the first shoots of lovage, first bits of fennel, and parsley.
You always need an onion and something to give a bit of
bulk, like potato, or red lentils – or some of both. But here’s
a thing, last year I discovered that ground elder leaves also
make a great spring soup, combined with any or all of the
above. I won’t even try to describe it, if you’ve got it in your
garden, you know about it because it’s so invasive. We have
those other invaders, the Romans, to thank for its presence
here. There are no exact recipes for these spring leaf culinary
treats. If I say, put in a handful, it depends on the size of
your hand, but go on-put in a handful!
Happy foraging!
Words & Illustrations: Ann Pettifer
22
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