Not that far in the past we used to only have seasonal food on the table. Imports were not available, at least in Bulgaria during my time there, and hot houses were not that popular yet. After the preserves made in the fall and used during the winter, we’d start the spring with lettuces, spinach, sorrel, dock and other greens; some foraged from the fields and forest. Stinging nettles were one of the first to show in the wild. I still make a variety of dishes with them. They are full of iron, vitamin C and many other minerals and vitamins.
With an ongoing “stay at home order” we are not venturing far from home. But there are some in the ravine behind us and off the trails of the Don Valley River near us.
I use plastic gloves (they are now in fashion, aren’t they) and scissors to cut the tops of the plants. Nettles can be harvested until they flower. I often find young plants to use, even later in the summer.
Use gloves to clean and wash them. Since I only pick the tips of the plants, I use both the leaves and the stems. It is much easier.
There are two ways to get rid of the stinging. One is to blanch the nettles and then rinse them quickly with cold water. The other is to sauté them in oil. I use the second option. It is faster and easier.
A full pot of nettles shrinks to two cups after stewing. I always add crumbled Bulgarian brine cheese (sold here as feta). You can use the nettles anywhere you use spinach, as a meal on its own or as a side for meat, eggs and sausages. They have a distinct nutty taste though, stronger than the spinach.
Penne with stinging nettles
This was my first nettles dish for year. We could only pick a handful of nettles from the ravine behind us, not enough for the dishes described after this one. So, pasta it was.
To add to the sauce without interfering with the nettles taste I used a zucchini, which has a neutral in flavour. For colour I added a handful of cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients:
1 cup of stinging nettles
1 medium zucchini
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes
Small onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves if you use garlic
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
A small piece of feta cheese (I use Bulgarian feta)
A cup of dry penne pasta (spaghetti or any other pasta)
Chives to decorate
Preparation
Cook the pasta as usual.
In the same time add oil in a large pan and sauté the onions to soft. Add garlic and sauté for a bit longer. Add the zucchini.
Stir for a minute or two and once zucchini is soft add the nettles. Stir until wilted. Add the tomatoes and set aside if the pasta is not ready.
When pasta is ready, bring the sauce back to the heat, add a few spoons of the pasta water and add the cooked penne to it. Stir well, and once water is absorbed add crumbled feta and chives on the top.
Serve immediately.
Stinging nettles soup
Ingredients:
About 250g (or ½ lb) of nettles, well washed
¼ cup of short grain rice
A small onion
Garlic if you use
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
Feta cheese or yogurt/cream
Salt to taste
Preparation
Oil a big pot and sauté onions and (optional) garlic. Fill the pot with the nettles and stir until they shrink. Use immersion blender to break them of small pieces. Add water (about 2l, depending on the thickness you want) and the rice and boil until the rice is done. Salt to taste (I use a cube of chicken stock). Add feta cheese or yogurt or cream when you serve.
Sautéed nettles
For the rest of the recipes here I use the sautéed and blended nettles.
Ingredients:
You need about 250g (½ lb) of raw nettles to yield 2 cups of sautéed nettles
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped (if you use it)
2 tbsp of vegetable oil (one can use butter instead)
Preparation
Preheat the oil in a pot. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic.
Stir for another minute or so and add the nettles. Keep stirring until the nettles shrink. Remove from the heat and use immersion blender to purée. You can use this in many different dishes.
Sautéed nettles with eggs
Ingredients:
2 cups of sautéed and blended nettles
2 tbsp of all purpose flour
2 eggs
About 100 g of feta cheese
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
Preparation
Stir the pureed nettles in preheated oil. Reduce the heat to low. Add the flour and continue stirring. Add water to the desired thickness. Keep stirring until flour is well blended with the nettles.
Crack the first egg and stir well into the mix. Repeat with the second egg. Cook while constantly stirring for about 5 min.
Once it is all done add the crumbled feta. Stir and serve.
Risotto with nettles
Ingredients:
1 cup of sautéed and blended nettles
1 cup of arborio rice (or any other short grain rice)
3 cups of water
Small chopped onion
2 garlic cloves if you use
2 tbsp of vegetable oil (you can use butter)
A cube of chicken stock or salt to taste
Preparation
Dissolve the chicken stock in 3 cups of hot water. Sauté the chopped onions and garlic to soft. Add the rice and stir until rice is coated with oil. Add a cup of water and keep stirring. Once absorbed add the second cup.
Continue stirring. Once the second cup is absorbed add the nettles and the third cup of water.
Continue stirring until the water is absorbed. The risotto has to be loose, so you may need a bit more water.
Serve as a main dish or side dish to any meat.
Breaded nettles and roasted red peppers
I used a mix of nettles and roasted red peppers for this but you can go only with nettles.
Select young but thick nettle tips.
Ingredients:
Nettle tips – I did about 12 for 2 people, but if you only use nettles as a main dish, you’ll probably need more
4 roasted and peeled red peppers
2 eggs
2 tbsp of flour
2 tbsp of vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil because of its higher burning temperature)
Feta cheese or plain yogurt
Preparation
Whisk the eggs. Slowly add the flour and continue whisking until the batter becomes smooth.
Preheat the oil in a frying pan.
Dip each of the nettle tips, and peppers and fry until golden.
Serve with crumbled feta or yogurt.
This was enough for our dinner for the two of us.
Banitsa with nettles
And in the end, you can use nettles in your filo pasty instead of spinach. I had a series of filo pasty posts, but for completeness will include it here:
The photos for this recipe are provided by Slavka Angelova.
Ingredients:
3 or 4 eggs
About 200 g feta cheese
About 200ml vegetable oil (sunflower or olive)
pinch of baking soda
2 tbsp of plain yogurt (if you don’t like yogurt, you can skip it)
1 package of thawed filo pastry
About 150g (¼ lb) of well-washed nettles
A small onion
Preparation
Sauté the finely chopped onion and nettles as described above. Let the mix cool.
Whisk the eggs and add the crumbled feta cheese and yogurt. Stir the cold nettles in. Add a pinch of baking soda.
Depending on your preparation speed and the time your oven would preheat, you can turn it to preheat before you start layering the banitsa. Preheat to 375F.
Brush the bottom of large baking sheet or pan with oil.
Oil a filo sheet lightly (usually about a tablespoon) and spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling evenly across it. Roll up the phyllo sheet loosely into a long tube, then curl it into a spiral and place it in the pan. Repeat with the rest of the sheets. Bake for about 40 min or until filo parcels are golden. Serve warm or cold. serve with yogurt if desired.
Guess who’s going nettle picking later today – these recipes look yummy. Thank you for sharing?
Hi Ella, thanks for stopping by and being my regular reader. I am sure you know a few more nettles recipes. Enjoy your foraging.