The wonderful nettle, used for so long by Celtic people in a range of different recipes, is experiencing a comeback. It has amazing medicinal properties, and is full of iron. This makes it a wonderful blood builder, and the presence of vitamin C aids in the iron absorption. Simply google nettle and you will see all of the health benefits it has.
You need to know a few things before harvesting nettle and cooking it. The stinging hairs can inject you with formic acid. It stings like heck, and it is the same type of acid that fire ants use to sting the bejapers out of you. But here’s the good news…simply boiling the nettles gets rid of the sting. Remember to use gloves when harvesting the nettle, and tongs when putting it into the pot!
Nettle Pesto
Pesto can be made from anything. However nettle pesto is made by the Italians in springtime, they call it pesto d’urtica. And you can now make it too. To get rid of the sting, all you have to do is boil the nettles in salty water and then shock it by dousing it in a bowl of iced water. This brings out the green colour like it has been hit with a rainbow. After the ice-bath put the nettles into a tea towel and drain them well.
This recipe makes about 1/2 cup of very green, very handsome pesto.
Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons of any type of grated cheese
6-8 tablespoons blanched, chopped nettles
Salt
Olive oil
You can mix this in a food processor, however using a mortar and pestle seems to somehow make it taste that much better.
Crush the nuts first, then the garlic. Throw in the salt, then the cheese, and then finally the nettle. Mash it so it all looks evenly crushed. Add olive oil to your desired viscosity.
You can serve this on bread, or over pasta. You could even drop a globule on fish. Delicious.
Nettle Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
1/2 lb. stinging nettles
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
Sour cream
Method:
In a large pot, melt one tablespoon of butter on a medium heat. Add the onion and one teaspoon of salt. Cook until the onions are soft. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 15 minutes. Add nettles and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add another tablespoon of butter, plus the pepper, and nutmeg. Puree soup in a blender or with a hand blender. Stir in the cream when serving. Delicious!
Nettle Tea
The health benefits of nettle tea have been documented since the beginning of time. Go on, go on, go on, have a cup of tea.
Ingredients:
Nettle leaves
Sugar or honey
Method:
Cut off the nettle leaves, leaving the stem behind (the older-looking nettles are sweeter). Put the nettles in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water and add sugar or honey. Simmer for 15 minutes. Taste the tea and add any more sugar if needed. For an iced tea version, simply let the liquid cool off and put into the fridge for two hours. Serve over ice!
Do you have any nettle recipes? Email us [email protected]