Nettle bread

Ingredients:

• Large handful of blanched, finely chopped nettle tops

• 350g bread flour (plus extra for dusting)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon yeast

• 100 ml milk

• 50 ml water

Method:

Put the nettles, flour and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Add the yeast.

Mix together the water and milk.

Slowly add the milk solution to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together to form a dough.

You can add more or less milk/water depending on how your dough feels. I find it varies slightly every time.

Tip out onto your worktop and knead for around 10 minutes.

Roll your dough into a ball, and dust with a little flour. Put it into a bowl and cover loosely with a damp cloth, to stop it drying out. Place somewhere warm.

Leave to prove for 1-2 hours, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Tip your dough back out onto your work surface and carefully deflate it by poking it with your fingers. Divide the mix into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and coat with a little more flour.

Place onto a baking tray, that has been dusted with flour, and leave for another hour or to prove again.

Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, the rolls should sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom.

These can also be cooked in the dying embers of a fire.

Leave to cool fully before serving with butter.

Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon 

Nettle & Wild Garlic Soup

Ingredients:

• A knob of Butter

• 1 onion (finely chopped)

• 2 sticks of celery (finely chopped)

• 2 white or purple carrots (finely chopped)

• 2 large handfuls of young nettle tops (finely chopped)

• 1 large handful of wild garlic leaves (finely chopped)

• 1L stock

• 3 tablespoons of full fat milk or cream

• Salt & pepper (to taste)

Method:

Heat the butter in a pan. Add the onion and cook for several minutes, until softening.

Add the celery, carrots, nettles, wild garlic and stock.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Stir in the milk and serve with crusty sourdough bread.

Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon 

Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 100g plain flour (sifted)

• 2 eggs

• 300ml milk

• Pinch of salt

• Butter

• Optional - Spring flowers (hawthorn, elderflower etc) or finely chopped blanched greens (nettles, rocket, spinach etc)

Method:

Whisk together the flour, eggs, milk and salt until smooth. Stir in any extras, if using.

Melt some butter in a pan and add a ladle full of batter to the pan.

Cook for a minute or 2 on each side, until golden brown.

If you have a sweet tooth, serve with honey. Nettle and honey is lovely.

Taken from my book ‘Eat like a Viking!’ Available now on Amazon