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nettle recipes? | (Read 584 times) |
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 02, 2008, 10:00:58 PM |
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I went out and harvested a bunch of nettles today and I'm wondering what are some good ways to prepare them. I'm dehydrating some and steamed some which was delicious. Does anyone have any recipes with nettles they could share?
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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April 04, 2008, 10:52:20 AM |
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They are fantastic in scrambled eggs.
They also go great in lasagne.
Pizza? Piroshki! How about something like spannikopita?
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 06, 2008, 11:23:17 PM |
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It sounds like most places you'd use cooked spinach would do well with nettles? Any tricks for masking the furriness? That would be my one complaint about nettles (well, other than the stinging bit I guess).
Has anyone tried using them in smoothies? I'm wondering if you'd have to worry about being stung or not. I've eaten them raw and for the most part I'm fine once they're in my mouth and I've heard there's something in the leaf that counteracts the acid, so I'm wondering if you blended it if it would have the same effect...
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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April 07, 2008, 04:24:11 PM |
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I think once they are warmed a bit, they lose their sting.
As for the furriness, don't knock it until you've tried it.
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 12, 2008, 06:51:15 PM |
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I tried juicing nettles today and although I didn't get much juice out of it, drinking it didn't sting me. I think I'll try a smoothie in the next few days and let you know how it goes.
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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April 13, 2008, 08:02:09 AM |
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Maybe it's just me ... but a smoothie sounds downright gross! 
Since nettles fill the same void in my stomach that meat fills, the idea of a nettle smoothie sounds like a bacon smoothie.
Have you tried nettle lasagna yet?
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 13, 2008, 10:50:16 PM |
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Hmmm that's interesting, I hadn't thought of nettles that way. I'm vegan so there tends to be a lot of overlap between my food groups. Tofu goes in smoothies...greens go in smoothies...so I'm thinking, why not a high protein green? I'm still thinking I'll try it, we've eaten through all our harvested nettles again so I'll have to wait until I get more, probably later this week. I haven't tried nettle lasagna yet though I'd like to, we've been talking about making a lasagna sometime soon. I assume you would use them in place of spinach?
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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April 14, 2008, 07:29:36 AM |
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Crazy vegans! Ack!
I think we might be getting to the end of nettle season.
Yes, I usually use nettles where I might use spinach. But I would also use nettles where I might use meat in a dish (perhaps you would use it where you would use tofu or tempeh). I think a stir fry would probably be good. Maybe a fried rice dish?
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 16, 2008, 12:18:56 PM |
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Tried a stir fry with beans, onions, and chard mixed in....sooo good.
I thought you could pretty much keep harvesting nettles until they died off in the winter, or at least went to seed. Is this not the case? What determines the unharvestable point?
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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April 16, 2008, 03:26:23 PM |
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Nettles get their name from the ability to harvest them and make nets out of them. So I think when you get late enough in the season they are going to get kinda hard to consume.
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rachael hamblin
Posts: 129
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April 17, 2008, 09:47:12 PM |
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Got it. Guess I'd better get out this week and find some to dry in that case. I'm going to miss fresh nettles!
I just found this recipe for a soup with nettles (I bet you could use dried nettles and let the water re-hydrate them..):
Potato Leek Stinging Nettle Soup with White Beans
Ingredients
1 lb fresh spring nettle tops
1 whole leek sliced
1/2 onion chopped
1T olive oil
2 med/large russets, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup canned white beans
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
Directions
Saute onions and leeks in olive oil until soft but not browning. Add white wine and deglaze. Add nettles and broth, cover pot and let simmer until nettles make room in the pot for the potatoes. Add potatoes and beans and simmer about 20 minutes, or until everything is very tender. Zip up with wand or in batches in the food processorAdd salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
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permaculture.dave
Posts: 113
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April 22, 2008, 03:43:08 PM |
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Here are two awesome nettle uses:
1. Nettle Pesto - which can be made vegan or not and is super good - olive oil, garlic, nettles, salt, sunflower seeds or pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese (opt) thrown in a food processor should do the trick. You can freeze it for three months or longer and eat it during the summer.
2. Nettle Infused honey - this year Maria juiced a whole batch of nettles and mixed the juice with honey. It tasted like a very yummy, medicinal treat. I believe she then proceeded to take the bulk of her batch of nettle honey and turn it into mead so the alcohol would preserve the nettles' medicinal value. We'll get to try that in a few months.
I suspect the nettle honey would be good for folks with allergies (so I've heard).
Maria has an awesome book called 101 Uses for Stinging Nettles by Piers Warren. Check it out!
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Nina
Posts: 18
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April 24, 2008, 07:53:39 PM |
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nettles are excellent in any kind of tomato vegetable soup, white beans,
dal, and perfect diced fine in hash browns..
I also like to dry them and add them to no wheat non-gluten
breading mix for shrimp , okra , fish etc.
fresh nettles are also wonderful in a stir fry with just curried onions.
Nina
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