Irish country green spring soup recipe

Over the past decade Ireland’s rich culinary heritage has been rediscovered and Nuala Cullen’s new book “The Best of Irish Country Cooking” showcases the best of Ireland’s rural heritage and favorite ingredients with 100 modern recipes from home.

Nuala Cullen is an accomplished Irish culinary writer and historian and her new book is filled with mouthwatering, user-friendly recipes, seasonal cooking suggestions, festive Irish traditions, and gorgeous scenes of Ireland’s unspoiled landscapes.

Give yourself a spring boost with this green soup using the early shoots of nutrient rich herbs. You can vary the ingredients according to what can be foraged or found in your local grocery store or farmers’ market.

Spring green soup recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

large handful of sorrel leaves

large handful of spinach

handful of young nettles or dandelion greens

heart of a small green cabbage

4 tablespoons/55 g butter

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

chopped fresh thyme

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1¼ cups/1 liter chicken stock, or milk and water

generous ½ cup/150 ml cream

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Wash all the leaves thoroughly in salted water, removing any course stalks or ribs. Keep the nettles separate. Prepare the cabbage in the same way, shake dry, and finely chop.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently sweat the onions, garlic, spinach, cabbage, sorrel, and thyme. Add the potatoes and the stock, or milk and water, and simmer until the potato is soft. Then add the nettles or dandelion greens and cook until they are tender, about 30 minutes.

Purée the soup, add the cream, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

* "The Best of Irish Country Cooking: Traditional and Contemporary Recipes" by Nuala Cullen. Published by Interlink Books, an imprint of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc. $25.00 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-56656-095-5.