Wild Nettle Soup with Jeruslem Artichokes

This is the first time I have not had a spring boundary waters trip in 5 or 6 years. Prepping for those those trips is a time-consuming process - dehydrating food, making jerky, packing everything, planning routes, etc. Inevitably garden stuff got delayed some, and I was not always here for some of the markers of spring, including the time to harvest nettles. So this year I am here! I made two nettle foraging trips in the past week, and have been eating them every day, if not more. My vitamin, calcium, and iron levels are becoming extra robust. If you want to harvest nettles, see my older post here about what to look for.

Yesterday morning I gathered a bucket full of the prickly greens, and decided to try making pesto, and also a soup because this rainy, cool weather seems to call for it. I created the recipe from what I had around, including jerusalem artichokes from the garden (dug up as soon as the earth was diggable and now living in a bucket in my fridge), and chicken bone broth, made over the winter from all of my roasted chicken thigh bones. It turned out really nice and was a beautiful green. If it was just a bit earlier I'd have been able to use green onions from the garden, but they are already starting to produce their offspring, so I'm leaving what I have left to re-populate.

Wild Nettle Soup
5 c. chicken bone broth
1/2 lb. jerusalem artichokes, quartered (potatoes would also work)
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, sliced
6+ c fresh nettles (use tongs!)
sea salt to taste

Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes)

1. Bring broth to a boil in a large pot. Add jerusalem artichokes to broth to cook. They will impart a nice sweet, nutty flavor to the soup. Boil jerusalem artichokes until soft, 6-10 minutes.
2. As that is happening, saute onions and garlic in butter or olive oil until soft.
3. When jeruslem artichokes are tender, add onion/garlic, salt, and fresh nettles to the broth. Nettles will cook down (and will lose their stinging properties once they wilt). I had a hard time measuring the nettles, but you have some room here to use more or less than I've suggested.
4. Process the soup with a burr whip thing or in batches in your food processor.
5. Serve as is, or stir in some cream!