Sluttishly Savoury: Stinging Nettle and Nutmeg Soup

There's something about the onset of winter that makes soups a staple in our diets. Now I live "in the sticks" (a few mile outside of central Brighton is, to a city girl, officially sticks-ville), I have been determined to forage the land and make something wholesome.

Now, I missed blackberry season because ... well, frankly I have no idea when it is. And I haven't got round to crabbing or foraging for cockles and mussels because the idea kinda freaks me out (something that I intend to overcome!). However, at the end of my garden, where neat lawn meets brushland, there are stinging nettles. A whole darn heap of them. So, for your entertainment (and eating pleasure - I promise!) I have been stung about a zillion times harvesting said nettles for this delicious old-school soup. It's actually really delicious.

You'll need:

• 450g of potatoes (peeled)
• 225g of nettles
• One onion
• Big pinch of salt
• Big pinch of black pepper
• Big pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• 100ml cream
• 1 litre stock (chicken or vegetable)
• Butter for frying

Make it!

• Get your potatoes peeled, chopped and bubbling in a pan of slightly salted water. You can bitterly consider the insanely disproportionate rise in profits of energy companies whilst you do this, if you like.
• Pop some butter into a hot frying pan and get it bubbling. Chop your onion and fry until the flesh starts to go translucent.
• Add the nettles to the pan. I tend to trim the leaves from the stalks and discard the stalks but you don't have to, as they'll all get blended later.
• You need to fry the nettles for about 10 minutes to neutralise the sting. After about 8 minutes I add the nutmeg, pepper, salt and cream to the nettles, stir briskly then bring off the heat.
• Take your tender potatoes out of their water and return them to their pan. Add the stock and the nettle mix and blend.
• Serve piping hot with a sprig of nettle on top for decoration (just remember to remove it before you eat!)