The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) season is now under way in the UK so it is time to make good use of this amazing plant. The beauty of edible wild plants, like nettles, is that they do not require any work to produce. No need to buy expensive seeds, pots or compost. No time spent watering and wondering if the seeds will come up. The stinging nettle is widely available, completely free, easy to use and very nutritious.
Further information on stinging nettles can be found in our other post here.
Removing the sting
Nettles are really quite an easy green vegetable to use. They can be steamed, boiled, fried, baked, dried, frozen, juiced and made into a healthy green smoothie. All these processes will remove the sting. We generally try to avoid too much cooking and freezing or reheating because the fresher the ingredients, the better they are for you nutritionally. However, research has shown that nettles retain significant amounts of nutrients even after blanching or cooking (Rutto et al, 2013).
Stinging nettle pesto on noodles
When and how to pick
Nettles are a perennial plant but the top growth dies down in the winter. The best time to pick nettles is the spring through to the early autumn. Nettles are best picked when they are about 20-30 cm in height although they will grow to over a metre. You can pick nettles repeatedly throughout the year and they will grow back up time and again. Gloves are useful for picking nettles but not essential. If you are a regular nettle forager, you will find your own method of picking. However, remember to harvest from places that have not been polluted with herbicides, pesticides or other chemicals.
Our nettle patch is next to the house so we pick little and often using a colander and a pair of scissors. First off we gently brush over the tops of the nettles with the colander or scissors to remove any little critters. We then snip a number of nettles at the base and then pick them up by the stem with the tips of the scissors. Once the colander is full, we give it a shake and leave it outside for an hour or so to enable any remaining critters to wander off. We then run the nettles under a tap and drain in the colander on the draining board ready for use.
Measuring quantities
A standard way of measuring nettles is the carrier bag method. A loosely filled standard carrier bag of nettles (stems included) should yield around 300g of washed leaves and tops (stems excluded). This is a very general rule and it is wise not to get too concerned about quantities since most wild food recipes are usually fairly forgiving. When preparing nettles remove any woody stems and dead or diseased leaves before use.
Storing nettles for the winter
Nettles can be left in the colander on a work surface to dry out, even
after rinsing under the tap. After a week or two, depending on the
humidity and heat in the kitchen, they will be crispy dry and can be
placed in an airtight plastic bag or jar for winter storage. This is an
easy and cheap method of drying nettles for those who don't possess a
dehydrator.
Stinging nettle smoothie
Raw Stinging nettle smoothie
Ingredients
2 peeled bananas
Flesh of 1 medium mango or orange
Handful of nettle leaves and tops
1 scant tbs of green powder e.g. Sunwarrior Super Greens
200 ml water or coconut water
Method
Place all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately. It will keep in the fridge for a day but is best drunk immediately. Feel free to substitute other fruit. However, we always keep one or two bananas as the base fruit. You can completely omit the water/coconut water and it will be thick enough to eat with a spoon.
Stinging nettle pesto
Nettle pesto (cooked version)
Ingredients
1 x garlic clove
150g nettles tops and leaves, washed and cooked in a little water for a few mins
50g pine nuts
2 tbs lemon juice
100-150 ml vegetable oil of choice
50g strong hard vegan cheese, grated
Salt to taste
Method
Blend the nettles, garlic, lemon juice and vegetable oil until smooth using a hand blender. Add the pine nuts and grated cheese. Blend again but leave chunks of nuts and cheese to give it some texture. This is great for spreading on raw crackers or not raw crackers. Add to noodles or pasta as a sauce. If using as a sauce you might want to add a little more oil. Place in an airtight container and it will keep in the fridge for a few days but it probably won't last that long because you'll want to eat it.
This yields around 400g of pesto which is enough for a night's gluttony spread on toast or the cracker of your choice for one person or two sensible people. It can also count as two portions of sauce for noodles or pasta. You can add sorrel leaves for a lemon flavour if you don't have any lemons in the kitchen and you can add wild garlic leaves for a garlic flavour if you are short on garlic bulbs.
Not for the faint-hearted raw nettle pesto (raw version)
Ingredients
1-2 garlic clove
150g nettles tops and leaves, washed
50g pine nuts
50g cashew nuts
2-3 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
100-150 ml vegetable oil of choice
100-150 ml water
Salt to taste
Method
Blend the garlic, nettles, lemon juice, cashew nuts, nutritional yeast flakes, salt, vegetable oil and water until smooth using a hand blender. Add the pine nuts and blend again leaving chunks of nuts to give it some texture. Add less water if you want more of a spread and less of a dressing. Place in a sealed container and keep in the fridge. The top of this will go a dark green nettle colour unless you keep it covered with silver foil or greaseproof paper. This is a very strong nettle-flavoured pesto. Be warned!
Nettle 'spinach'
Ingredients
300g fresh nettles tops and leaves, washed
Method
Place nettles in a pan with a little water. Bring gently to the boil. Simmer gently for 5-10 mins or until tender. Drain well squeezing out the water with the back of a wooden spoon. Serve as a vegetable in the same way you would spinach. A knob of margarine and a touch of salt and pepper is nice. Like spinach it cooks down to a small quantity but has a more robust quality and has a dry rather than a slimy texture. Serves 2. Cooked spinach will store in the fridge for a few days.
Some people say the best way of cooking nettles is to blanch them first and then sauté them in oil. We usually can't be bothered to do two things to them before we use them and often don't want oil all over them so we simply gently simmer them until done. Honestly, it's up to you!
Tip: the cooking water can be used as a tea, added to smoothies or used as a base for soups.
