Nässelsoppa - Nettle Soup

The use of the stinging nettle as food appears to be most
common to Sweden. The only exception we have come
across on the Net is a Slovenian spring-soup recipe. The
nettles should be collected very young (use gloves!), the
leaves not longer than 2 - 3 cm.
Ingredients:
· 2 litre rinsed leaves of
stinging nettle
· 1.5 litre water
· 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
· 3 tbsp (50 ml) flour
· 25 - 50 g chives
· 2 beef bouillon cubes
· salt, pepper
Proceed as follows:
1. Let the nettle leaves simmer until tender, usually 5 -
10 minutes is enough.
2. Strain and set the liquid aside.
3. Puree the nettles together with the chives in a food
processor. The result should be a creamy paste.
4. Melt the butter in a deep casserole, add the flour and
mix thoroughly at moderate heat.
5. Add the nettle water while stirring, then add the nettle
puree. Let simmer for a few minutes, then add salt
and pepper if required.
Nettle soup is traditionally served with halved hard-boiled
eggs, but the eggs can be whole or sliced as well.