NETTLES
Nettles are full of vitamins A, C and K, and iron, and are actually rather tasty. Cooking the plant, even just blanching in boiling water for a minute, kills the stinging hairs. There are endless ways to use nettles - stir through risotto, make a tea, pesto, gnocchi - here are some of my favourite.
WILTED NETTLES
This makes a great side in replace of spinach or other greens. Just bear in mind that you have to pick quite a lot of nettles as they shrink down like spinach.
Ingredients
Nettle tops
Butter
Lemon juice – to taste
Sea salt
Black pepper
Method
Using gloves, pick the top few leaves of the nettles.
Wash and drain them.
Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and toss in the nettle tops.
Gentle fry for a couple of minutes until they have wilted down.
Season with salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve immediately.
NETTLE CRISPS
A tasty little snack, these crisps are super light and almost melt in the mouth.
Ingredients
To make a bowl of crisps:
A big bowlful of young nettle leaves
Generous pinch of sea salt
Black pepper
50ml olive oil
Chilli flakes – optional
Method
Using gloves, pick the nettle tops. Still wearing gloves, strip the leaves from any stems, then wash and drain them.
Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Combine all of the ingredients apart from the nettles in a bowl.
Toss in the nettles and gentle fold to coat them in the oil and seasoning.
Using tongs (as nettles will still sting at this stage), lay out the nettles on a baking sheet so they form a single layer.
Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until crisp. Tip into a bowl and eat straight away.
