12 Nettle Recipes To Add To Your Cookbook (2024)

FAQs

What is nettle used for in cooking? ›

Culinary Use

Since it tastes so similar to spinach, cooked nettle is used in many of the same ways: in pastas, in sauces, in soups, or sauteed and served as a side. One of the most common ways to consume the plant is drinking nettle tea.

Young leaves can be used to make curries, herb soups, and sour soups. The root of the stinging nettle is used to treat mictional difficulties associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia, while the leaves are used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and allergic rhinitis.

At this point, it's best to think of stinging nettles in a similar fashion to spinach in terms of cooking the leaves. Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting. But leave them for too long and - like spinach - the leaves will wilt too far, and start to lose flavour, texture and goodness.

Because the stings have to remain firm to cause the irritation, cooking the leaf instantly makes them safe – don't try to eat the leaf raw in a salad or anything. There are plenty of recipes online for a variety of hot dishes, so see what you fancy. Think of the nettle leaf like spinach and use it in a similar way.

It is important to be careful when handling the nettle plant because touching it can cause an allergic rash. Stinging nettle should never be applied to an open wound. Because nettle can alter the menstrual cycle and may contribute to miscarriage, pregnant women should not use nettle.

Eating Stinging Nettle

You can eat the young shoots and leaves. They are best in the early spring. Once nettle goes to flower, it loses much of its nutritional value. You can also eat nettle seeds, gather them in late summer or early fall.

In springtime, the young shoots are cooked as a vegetable. A restorative and energizing tea is made from the leaves. Nettles are also used to make dye with shades ranging from yellow to deep green. The fibrous stalk is made into strong cordage for nets and rope.

You can apply stinging nettle to the skin around the painful area. Common side-effects include itching and a tingling sensation. Because it can be applied to the skin, it's unlikely that it'll affect other medications.

Ginger is a wonderful herb to have in your kitchen. It is a warming, carminative herb that helps with: bloating, indigestion, nausea, inflammatory pain, and gas.It also has a wonderful synergistic effect and I add it to my nettles tea to enhance the benefits of nettles.

How many nettle leaves to make tea? ›

Making stinging nettle tea is a very easy business. You will need about one cup of nettle leaves for every two cups of water. Simply add the nettle leaves to the water and bring to the boil.

At the first sign of nettles flowering and going to seed, you should stop picking the leaves – the plant starts to produce microscopic rods of calcium carbonate, which when absorbed into the body can interfere with our kidney function.

Fill the sink (or a large bowl) with cold water, then tip the nettles into the pot of boiling water and blanch for about four minutes, until wilted and soft – slightly older plants may take longer, but the shorter the cooking time, the more vibrant the colour of your soup will be.

The genus Cannabis was formerly placed in the nettle family (Urticaceae) or mulberry family (Moraceae), and later, along with the genus Humulus (hops), in a separate family, the hemp family (Cannabaceae sensu stricto).

Eating Stinging Nettle

You can eat the young shoots and leaves. They are best in the early spring. Once nettle goes to flower, it loses much of its nutritional value. You can also eat nettle seeds, gather them in late summer or early fall.

Directions. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 2 teaspoons of salt. Drop in the stinging nettles, and cook 1 to 2 minutes until they soften. This will remove most of the sting.

Stinging nettle tastes like mild spinach without the strong iron flavor. It's green and grassy-tasting, not unlike other dark leafy plants, with a bit of a peppery bite, like arugula.

Separate Leaves From Stalks

Make sure that all of the leaves are separated from the stalks. Drop the leaves into a sink or bowl of warm water and let them sit for about 10 minutes. This washing process by itself will remove much of the sting from the nettles.