living in the woods and making stuff

This soup was inspired partly by the very seasonal delicious veggies available, and also by a soup that I had in Japan a few years ago while visiting my brother, who was living there at the time. The noodles and broth were served at a temple that traditionally made the dish every spring when a specific green was available. I think that the noodles were actually made out of the plant, and I really can’t remember what it was. The soup that I made was mostly inspired by the idea of the Japanese soup.

I gathered a bag of nettles, and picked a batch of asparagus from the patch. Remembering the Japanese noodle soup, and wanting to make something simple and nutritious, I steamed the nettles, and set the broth and greens aside. Meanwhile, I boiled some buckwheat soba noodles, and on the other burner, I sauteed the sliced asparagus.

For the simple soup, I cooked the nettle broth down a little, finely chopped the nettle greens, and arranged the soba noodles in a bowl. I set the greens on top, and then poured the boiling hot broth over the whole thing. I seasoned the soup with a little soy sauce, and that was it. Very very simple, but delicious.