Nettle Kail (Highlands and Hebrides)

‘This simple but delicious soup is associated specially with the month of March, when nettles are young and fresh and the black March cockerel is exactly a year old, with young and tender flesh. The nettles were picked commonly on the old drystone dykes or the walls of the drystone-built ‘black’ houses, now rapidly vanishing. In the old days, March time was tonic time, and it was believed that nettle kail, taken three times during the month – sometimes on three consecutive days – purified the blood, cleared the complexion, and in general, ensured good health during the ensuing year. Shrove Tuesday was a very special night for a nettle kail supper. All the members of the family were expected to be present, and a blessing was invoked on the spring work.’ – Rachel Macleod, Barra, in a letter to the author, accompanying the recipe.