Nettle is healthy, tastes good and you can pick its fresh sprouts for free in forests in the springtime. I usually make nettle tea but it is also great for soups. Here comes my favourite one:

• Soak 100 g barley for 1 hour.
• Chop 1 onion finely and run it on hot olive oil in a saucepan.
• Add 4 tablespoon ground almond and 1 tablespoon all purpose flour. Stir it until gets golden.
• Chop celery root and leaves, a bit of fresh lovage as well as a generous amount of fresh chive, basil, oregano and sage leaves. Add it to the onion-almond mix.
• Add 1-1.5 l water (depends on how thick soup you want) and a stock cube.
• Rinse barley and add to the soup when it is boiling.
• Add salt and cook it slowly until the barley is almost done.
• Add a big bunch of fresh, chopped nettle and cook it for 5 more minutes.
• Serve it with parmesan cheese and brown bread.