Spring Nettles — Tonic and Terrific

by Sidonie Maroon , The Food Co-op Culinary Educator, abluedotkitchen.com

Follow Sidonie on The Food Co-op’s Facebook group Cooking with the Co-op

On the far side of open pasture, the trail curves and under a hedge of thimbleberry canes, I see emerging stinging nettles. They’re the perfect size for harvesting. I’ve brought a sack, with a produce bag, scissors and thick garden gloves tucked inside. Squatting down, I snip off the first four inches of leaves and use the scissors to drop it in the bag. When my bag’s full, I thank the patch, knowing it’ll recover, and the next time I pass by, the nettles will be twice as high.

Nettles are dynamic accumulators, or mining plants. They gather macro and micronutrients, and help improve neighboring plant’s defenses against pests and diseases. Such a giving plant, they also provide food and shelter to over 40 species of insects, including gorgeous butterflies.

If you’re unable to harvest nettles, both the Farmer’s Market and the Food Coop sell them. But if you’re only inexperienced, please venture out. Stinging nettles are widespread, growing in moist woods, often under alders where the soil is soft, black and nitrogen rich. You can find them along streams, ditches, on mountain slopes, and in woodland clearings.

How to prepare nettles?

1. First stick your nose above the bag and smell! There’s nothing so alive and zingy as fresh nettles.

2. Wear gloves and use tongs! Blanch the nettles in boiling water for 2 minutes. Scoop them out with a strainer and chop as you would spinach. Save the blanching water for stock!

3. To make a healthy nettle infusion: Pack a mason jar half full of nettles, pour in boiling water and allow it to infuse overnight. Strain and drink cold, or warm it with honey and milk. It’ll be an electric bright green!

4. Freeze blanched and chopped nettles for future pies, soups, casseroles or pesto….

Earthy Nettles Pair With 

Cheeses like Asiago, Jack, Parmesan and Sharp Cheddars; many mushrooms; alliums like leeks and garlic; herbs such as — thyme, marjoram, dill, and parsley; and the spices are black pepper, chilies, nutmeg, and ginger. Try nettles with acids like mustard, lemon, lime, and wine vinegars; fats like butter and olive oil. Try with walnuts. Meats — especially smoked pork. Vegetables—potatoes and other root vegetables. Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, black-eyed peas and all white beans.     

What to make?

Pesto: try making a pesto d’urtica if you’ve never eaten fresh nettles: 1 1/2 cups blanched and chopped nettles, 1 clove minced garlic, ¼ cup grated parmesan, ¼ cup toasted walnuts, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt to taste. You can freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and use as needed.

Soups: Try nettles in minestrone, lentil soup, or an Indian dal. Blend it into the background, or chop it in for texture as you would spinach, kale or chard. A potato, leek and nettle soup is classic and for many a rite of Spring.

Pies: Use nettles to replace spinach in savory pies, such as spanakopita. 

Breads: Savory breads, bread sticks, biscuits, and muffins are wonderful with nettles, herbs and cheeses.

Quiches and omelets: For a green egg and ham variation, puree the nettles into the eggs and add cubes of ham and cheese.

Fresh Nettle Chutney

Makes 2 cups

Bright electric green and delicious!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3 tablespoons hulled sesame seeds

¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

¼ cup roasted cashews, chopped

¼ cup pitted deglet dates, chopped 

1 ½ cups blanched stinging nettles 

1 1/2  teaspoons pickled jalapeno

1 tablespoon fresh ginger paste

½  teaspoon sea salt 

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, and zest of 1 lime

½ cup nettle blanching water

Directions

1. Dry roast the cumin seed, sesame seeds and coconut flakes, in a heavy frying pan, on a low heat, stirring frequently, until the coconut is golden and cumin smells toasty.

2. Using tongs, rinse the fresh nettles. Bring a 2-quart pot of water to a boil. Add 3 big tong fulls of nettles to the water and boil for 2 minutes. Grab and nettles out with the tongs and roughly chop before measuring.

3. In a blender, I used a Vitamix on high, combine everything and process until smooth.

4. Transfer to a bowl and serve, or store refrigerated for up to a week.

French Lentil and Nettle Ragout with Lemon-Mustard Pistou

Serves 6

Time 1 hour

Nettles and French lentils are good partners, complimenting each other with complex earthy flavors. The bright lemon-mustard pistou, added at the end, sets up a satisfying contrast to this rich stew. Don’t be afraid to take the extra step and grind the quatre epices for this recipe. It’s easy and worth the effort, besides you’ll find many ways to use it, until it becomes a kitchen regular, and indispensable.

Ingredients

For lentils

1 ½ cups French lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 cups water 

For nettle ragout

¼ cup unsalted butter

2 medium onions cut into a small dice

2 carrots cut into a small dice

2 stalks celery cut into thin strips and minced

5 cloves garlic minced

2 cups packed blanched and chopped nettle leaves (wearing gloves, cut leaves off the nettle stalk with scissors)

⅔ cup white wine or sherry

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves finely chopped, no stems 

1 teaspoon quatre epice or more to taste

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste  

Pistou

¾ cup chopped parsley 

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon zest of lemon  

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Quatre epices

Makes almost ¼ cup 

Grind together in a spice grinder or coffee mill:

1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons black peppercorns

1 nutmeg broken up with a mortar and pestle

2 teaspoons dried ginger

1 teaspoon allspice berries

First things first

1. Gather all ingredients and tools together, mise en place.

2. Grind the quatre epice and set aside 

3. Blanch the nettles in boiling water for 1 minute, just long enough to tame the sting. Drain and roughly chop.

4. Prep. all vegetables as described.

Lentils

Rinse the lentils. In a saucepan, bring the lentils, bay leaf, salt and 6 cups of water to a boil, reduce to a lively simmer and cook until the lentils are tender but hold their shape. Depending on the age of the lentils, this can take 25 to 40 minutes. Drain the lentils through a colander before adding to the ragout. 

Ragout

While the lentils are cooking, saute the onions in butter until sweet, 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue to saute, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and briefly soften, 3 minutes. Add nettles, thyme and spices. Deglaze with the wine allowing it to cook off at a medium heat. The vegetables should be sweet and glazed.

Blend the mustard, lemon zest, lemon and salt together with the parsley in a small food processor. Taste and correct the flavors as needed.

Gently toss the drained lentils with the vegetables and pistou. Taste and correct as needed. 

Gorgonzola Walnut Nettle Fingers

rectangular hand pies

makes 16

Cheese and Nettle Filling

1 cup (140g) crumbled greek feta cheese

½ cup (70g) crumbled gorgonzola

½ cup (125g) cottage cheese

2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried 

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne

¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice or to taste

1 tablespoon runny honey

1/2 cup (100g raw) blanched, drained and finely chopped young nettle leaves (measure the ½ cup after blanching and draining well) Nettles cook down like spinach!

2 eggs beaten

1 cup (100g) toasted and chopped walnuts

¼ cup (40g) dried currants

Blanch the nettles, squeeze and press out any moisture. Toast and chop the walnuts. In a food processor combine the cheeses and other ingredients, except the currants and walnuts. Pulse  together and then stir in the currants and walnuts. Refrigerate the filling for 3-4 hours or overnight. The flavors will need time to develop.

Pastry Dough

2 ⅓ cups (315g) unbleached all purpose flour or gluten free pastry flour

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½ inch pieces

¼ cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

In a food processor combine all of the dry ingredients and pulse several times to mix. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse 6-8 times or until the dough resemble small lentils. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together, pour the mixture into the processor, and pulse briefly just long enough to moisten. Empty into a mixing bowl and bring the dough together firmly with your hands. Divide into four balls and shape into flat disks. Let the dough chill for several hours.

Rolling and Baking the Nettle Fingers

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Work with one dough disk at a time, keeping the others chilled. Roll the dough disk out as thin as possible into a 8x8 inch rectangle. Cut it into four 4x4 inch squares. Continue rolling and cutting the rest of the dough until you have 16 squares. Keep the cut squares chilled while you roll out the others.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out several of the squares at a time, and put 1 ½ tablespoons filling into the center of each, leaving ¾ inch free on each end. Fold one of the sides over the filling and loosely continue rolling it into a log. Then, press each end with fork tines, and brush the tops with olive oil. Continue until they’re all rolled in the same way.

Bake them for 15-18 minutes or until golden colored on the tops and bottoms. They’re best eaten warm, but reheat well.

Nettle Kuku-ye Sabzi

Makes One 9- inch round Kuku

Herb kuku is a traditional Nowruz (Iranian New Year) dish celebrated at the Spring Equinox. The green of the herbs symbolizes rebirth, while eggs represent fertility for the year to come. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup dried chopped cranberries

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

4 tablespoons butter or ghee plus 1 tablespoons for pie plate

1 large onion cut into a small dice

6 large eggs

2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped

1 cup blanched nettles

1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup finely chopped fresh dill

Spices and dry ingredients

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon toasted and freshly ground cumin seeds

1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds

Seeds from 1 green cardamom pod

6 black peppercorns

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 tablespoon freshly ground flax meal

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) Preheat skillet on stove top for sauteing onions, put 1 tablespoons of butter in

9-inch pie plate and let heat in oven

2. In the preheated oven, toast chopped walnuts and dried cranberries separately from each other on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, for approximately 5 to 6 minutes. set aside

3. Toast cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant,  then measure and grind in a spice grinder with all other dry ingredients set aside

4. Heat 4 tablespoons butter or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions until lightly golden, allow to cool. Chop all herbs and garlic while onions are cooking and set aside

5. Break eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and spices and beat in with a fork. Add garlic spinach, herbs, walnuts and sautéed onions. Fold in gently with a spoon and do not overmix.

6. Put the mixture into heated buttered baking dish and bake uncovered in a preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife  cover with a plate and invert onto the plate, Garnish with the chopped cranberries

8. Cut the kuku into small pieces and serve hot or cold with lavish bread and yogurt.

Nush-e Jan!

May you be nourished