Seeking the perfect starter or a light and refreshing lunch? Look no further than Thyme's recipe for nettle soup. Nettles and other vegetables create the delicious silky soup, whilst poached eggs and pancetta top it off. Thyme has a wonderful restaurant, the Ox Barn, which is led by Head Chef Charlie Hibbert.
Photo credit: @gbchefs
Recipe for nettle soup with poached egg and pancetta
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the nettle soup
1 onion
4 sticks of celery
1 head of fennel
1 potato
4 garlic cloves
100g butter (or olive oil)
500g nettles leaves, washed
500g spinach leaves
The extras...
Sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
4 free-range eggs
Splash of white wine vinegar
8 slices of pancetta
Olive oil
Method
Roughly chop the garlic, onion, fennel, celery and potato. Sweat them together with the butter over a medium heat in a lidded pot for around 5 minutes. As they start to cook, cover them with water and allow the pot to come up to a simmer. While this is happening, it is important to blanch the nettles to avoid the soup ending up a swampish colour, rather than the vibrant green that catches the eye. To this end, bring another pot of water to the boil and cook the nettles for 30 seconds. Drain the nettles and refresh in iced water to halt the cooking process. Once the vegetables are cooked through, stir through the spinach and nettles and then season and blend until silken. Pass the soup through a fine mesh sieve and set it aside.
Place a pan over a medium heat and quickly fry the pancetta slices until crisp. Remove from the pan and rest on kitchen paper until ready to serve. Bring a small pot of water with a splash of white wine vinegar to a simmer. Gently crack each egg into a cup and tip them into the water. Allow the eggs to cook for three minutes, then gently lift them out of the water and let them drain on a piece of kitchen paper.
To serve, ladle a portion of soup into warm bowls. Then float a poached egg in the centre and lay a couple of pieces of pancetta next to the egg. Finally, dress with a smattering of olive oil and a crack of pepper.
About Thyme
Thyme includes 32 bedrooms situated throughout the Georgian rectory, The Lodge, The Tallet and the buildings around the courtyard and gardens. Ox Barn (seats 62) offers a wonderful dining experience, with its own twist on seasonal British food.
Thyme also offers the Baa bar, meadow spa, pool, orchid house and botanical bothy. The piggery and balcony room boutiques stock Bertioli by Thyme's range of silkwear, tableware and bespoke homeware.
If that's not enough, their 'village within a village' also contains a cookery school, floristry and drawing classes, farm, kitchen gardens, orchards and water meadows. Cottages are available for private hire and you can also book the Tithe Barn for private events.
You can view our collection of Thyme recipes and our interview with Charlie Hibbert on L-Shaped.
Thyme’s room rates currently start at £335 (midweek) / £395 (Fri, Sat) per night. These are room rates include breakfast.
Thyme, Southrop Manor Estate, Southrop, Gloucestershire, GL7 3PW
www.thyme.co.uk | 01367 850 174 | reception@thyme.co.uk