It is spring, and to many of us that means time to watch for the nettle. Long ago, our ancestors also watchedfor the first greens of spring after ahard winterwithnutritional foods in short supply. As soon as they were able, they harvested nettle andincorporated its revitalizing nutrition into their diets.
Nutritionally, nettleis one of nature’s powerhouses. Nettles arevery high in calcium, chromium, magnesium, and zinc, and high in cobalt, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, protein, riboflavin, selenium, silicon, thiamine, vitaminA, and vitamin C (Pederson, 1998).
Many an herbalist claims nettle is one of their favorites, and here we’ll share some of our favorite nettle recipes!
Gathering Nettle Leaves
It’s not called “stinging” nettle withoutreason. The leaves and the stalk are covered with fine hair-like daggers containing several chemicals including formic acid, which, when touched, causes a sting.
Reactions to the sting vary. Some people accept the sting and thank the plant. Others feel the tingle the rest of the day. In others the burn can last twenty-four hours. (Japan has a nettle whose sting, they claim, lasts a year!) It appears if you work with nettle a lot, the sting isn’t as harsh.
The leaves are best harvested in the spring when the nettle is less than 18 inches tall. Taking only the top six inches is recommended. Try to harvest only stems with unblemished leaves.
If you’re new to harvesting nettle, you should wear gloves and take a large paper grocery bag or basket for placing the nettle in.
If you are harvesting for teas for later in the year, dry the nettle, either by hanging, or my favorite method: Placing the nettle loosely in brown paper bags, marking the bag, putting it in your backseat, and parking in the sun. Depending on the temperature, it usually takes only one day (more on harvesting here).
Once the nettle is dried or cooked, it loses its sting.
If you are looking for a place to buy dried nettle, we recommend Mountain Rose Herbs.
Stinging Nettle Recipes for your Cookbook
Nettle Soup
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
½ cup uncooked rice (wild rice is great but any rice will do)
Several large handfuls stinging nettle tops
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
8 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Mixed vegetables, or corn or whatever veggie you like that day
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Potatoes and/or leeks can also be added
Directions
- Carefully pick nettles – gloves are recommended. Take only the top 4-6 inches of new unblemished spring plants that are less than 18 inches tall. Remove the leaves. You may need to rinse and pat them dry.
- Start cooking your rice.
- In a separate large soup pan melt the butter, add the onion and garlic and simmer until translucent.
- Add the chicken broth and onion and garlic mixture and nettles leaves in the soup pan and bring to a full boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point we use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the vegetables, rice and salt and pepper (and any other herbs you like) and simmer a few more minutes.
Nettle Pasta
You can use any of your favorite pasta recipes and incorporate the nettle.
Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 or 3 large handfuls of fresh nettle tops (harvested from plants no more than 18” tall and only taking the top 6”)
2-3 eggs
Directions
- Bring nettle and water to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Strain nettles, retaining the water – you’ll use that water to boil your pasta in later.
- Puree nettles and the eggs using immersion blender.
- Make a well out of the flour in a mixing bowl and add the nettles and eggs mixture. Mix thoroughly until you have a smooth dough ball. (You may need to add extra flour if the mixture is wet or the retained nettle water if the mixture is dry.)
- Put the ball of dough in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes.
- Roll out about 1/3 of the dough at a time into a ball.
- Cover the ball of dough with damp towel and let set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Roll 1/3 of the dough at a time on a floured surface as thin as you would like – can be very thin or thicker if you like thick noodles.
- Cut into any length strip – as long or short as you want, or in squares if you want to make ravioli. Hang them, if possible, for about 10 minutes. We have a pasta hanger, but you can use a clean plastic hanger.
- Bring the savednettle water to a boil again and place your green noodles into the boiling water. Cook for 3 – 8 minutes depending on the thickness. Check them for doneness.
(To sacrificehealth benefits but maximize delight, we drizzle with melted butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese.)
Nettle Broth
Adapted from Traditional Scottish Cooking by Margaret Fairlie
Ingredients
2 cups chopped young fresh nettle (dried nettle can be used off season)
1 quart chicken broth
½ cup barley
1 cup diced potatoes
Salt and pepper as needed
Directions
- Wash and pat dry the nettle. Remove the stems and discard.Finely chop the leaves.
- Bring the chicken stock and barley to a boil and simmer in a saucepan for about an hour.
- Add the nettles and diced potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about twenty to thirty minutes.
- Serve hot. Serves 4.
Nettle Oatcakes
Adapted fromPrehistoric Cooking by Jacqui Wood
Ingredients
bowl of nettles
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
approximately 1 cup oatmeal (until it binds)
Directions
- Wash a large bowl of nettles and pat dry. Place them in a pan with two tablespoons of butter and simmer over low heat stirring occasionally.
- Strain.
- Add salt and an egg and beat until smooth.
- Add oatmeal until it binds together. Let sit one hour.
- Press into about two inch patties, and fry until golden brown on both sides.
- Serve warm with bacon, cheese, or with maple syrup.
Nettle Leaf Shortbread
Adapted from Je Cusine Les Plantes by Amandine Geers Ingredients
5½ ounces of butter at room temperature
10½ounces of plain flour
2½ ounces sugar (powdered sugar will make them less sweet)
3 tablespoons nettle leaf finely chopped (powdered)
½ teaspoons baking powder
1 or 2 egg yolks
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cut butter into the small pieces.
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, nettle powder, baking powder and sugar).
- Add butter and mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add one egg yolk and form a ball (if one egg yolk isn’t enough, add another and then add milk (about three tablespoons) to dry ingredients until it forms a dough.
- Roll dough on parchment paper to about 1/3 inch. Cut into squares.
- Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Easy Nettle Tea
Nettle tea is nutritious at any time of year. I use about 1 teaspoon of dried nettle and 1 cup of water and let it brew, covered, for about 20 minutes. It can be drying in the winter, so watch for this.
I hope you have access to fresh nettle this month so you are able to try some of the above recipes. And don’t forget to dry some nettle for use during the winter!
More Nettle Recipes to Enjoy:
Nettle Vinegar
Spring Nettles with Garlic-Lemon White Beans
Nettle Spring Side SaladbyHunter Gather Cook
Stinging Nettle Chips by Learning and Yearning
Stinging Nettle Frittata by This Original Organic Life
Stinging Nettle and Sharp Cheddar Omelet by Nourished Kitchen
REFERENCES
Pedersen, Mark. (1998). Nutritional Herbology.
FAQs
them easy for recipes. They are most tasty to eat in spring and autumn (avoid eating the leaves in summer as they contain gritty particles). Stinging nettles are great wildlife attractors and you might notice some animals when you're collecting.
What is nettle used for in cooking? ›
Since it tastes so similar to spinach, cooked nettle is used in many of the same ways: in pastas, in sauces, in soups, or sauteed and served as a side. One of the most common ways to consume the plant is drinking nettle tea.
Is stinging nettle a super food? ›
Stinging nettle is a plant that can sting and cause welts, but when the sting is removed a traditional “superfood” emerges. Native Indigenous peoples have gathered stinging nettles since time immemorial. They can be used medicinally, ceremonially, made into fabric, nets, rope, and are a highly nutritious food source.
What can you do with nettles? ›
Young leaves can be used to make curries, herb soups, and sour soups. The root of the stinging nettle is used to treat mictional difficulties associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia, while the leaves are used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and allergic rhinitis.
When should you not pick nettles? ›
At the first sign of nettles flowering and going to seed, you should stop picking the leaves – the plant starts to produce microscopic rods of calcium carbonate, which when absorbed into the body can interfere with our kidney function.
Who should avoid stinging nettle? ›
It is important to be careful when handling the nettle plant because touching it can cause an allergic rash. Stinging nettle should never be applied to an open wound. Because nettle can alter the menstrual cycle and may contribute to miscarriage, pregnant women should not use nettle.
What is the best way to take nettle? ›
The dried leaves and flowers can be steeped to make a delicious herbal tea, while its leaves, stem and roots can be cooked and added to soups, stews, smoothies and stir-frys. However, avoid eating fresh leaves, as their barbs can cause irritation. Currently, there is no recommended dosage for stinging nettle products.
Can you eat nettles raw? ›
Because the stings have to remain firm to cause the irritation, cooking the leaf instantly makes them safe – don't try to eat the leaf raw in a salad or anything. There are plenty of recipes online for a variety of hot dishes, so see what you fancy. Think of the nettle leaf like spinach and use it in a similar way.
What is the difference between nettle and stinging nettle? ›
Nettles have both ordinary and stinging hairs on stems, leaf petioles (stem part of a leaf) and undersides of the leaves. Stinging hairs are longer, about 1 millimeter long, and tend to stick out aggressively.
Are nettles better than spinach? ›
Nettles are often called a “superfood.” Spinach is considered the most nutritious green in grocery stores but it pales in comparison to nettles, which are 29 times higher in calcium, 8 times higher in magnesium, 3 times higher in potassium, and almost double in their potassium content!
Nettle tea benefits the kidneys by increasing urine output and uric acid removal. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it improves kidney function and urinary flow. Nettle tea is a natural diuretic that promotes proper fluid flow in the kidneys and bladder, preventing kidney stones from forming.
How do you prepare nettles to eat? ›
Nettles need to be thoroughly cleaned and de-stung before eating. To do this, the easiest method is blanching them in boiling water and rinsing them afterward, squeezing out the water before sautéing them or adding them into soups or stews.
What can nettle be mixed with? ›
Try tossing this with pasta, potatoes or cooked vegetables. It can also be used on crackers or fresh vegetables as a snack. Boil nettles in water (blanch) for 2-3 minutes to remove the sting.
Are nettles related to Marijuanas? ›
The genus Cannabis was formerly placed in the nettle family (Urticaceae) or mulberry family (Moraceae), and later, along with the genus Humulus (hops), in a separate family, the hemp family (Cannabaceae sensu stricto).
Can you eat stinging nettle everyday? ›
When taken by mouth: Stinging nettle is possibly safe when used for up to 1 year. It might cause diarrhea, constipation, and upset stomach in some people. When applied to the skin: Stinging nettle is possibly safe. Touching the stinging nettle plant can cause skin irritation.
Can I eat nettles everyday? ›
Any food should be eaten following the "All Things In Moderation" motto. Nettles are a good food, but if you are eating them more than two times a week in quantity, you might be heading towards trouble. Nettles are a Medicinal Herb, as such they have properties that when overdone can create issues with health.
What month is best to pick nettles? ›
Nettles are best eaten when the leaves are young and tender, so pick the fresh young tips of the plants in early to mid spring when they're at their seasonal best. You can also pick them later in the season when they're growing well, but before they flower.
Can you become immune to nettles? ›
Repetition doesn't create immunity, it's not like a disease. Quite often the opposite happens. The more you're stung the more you react, whether the sting is from a plant or an insect.
