Stinging Nettle Recipes

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Farmfresh
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Stinging Nettle Recipes

Unread post by Farmfresh »

All of these recipes I got from the BBC program River Cottage with Huge Fearnly-Whittingstall.

Nettle soup - River Cottage BBC

Serves six.

Around 150g nettle tops
30-35g knob of butter
1 onion, peeled chopped
1 large or 2 smallish leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp white rice, such as basmati
1 litre vegetable (or chicken) stock
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 heaped tbsp thick, plain yoghurt, to finish
1 small bunch chives, to finish

Pick over the nettles, wash them thoroughly and discard the tougher stalks. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-low heat, add the onion, leek, celery and garlic, cover and sweat gently for 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until soft but not brown. Add the rice and stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the nettles, stirring them into the stock as they wilt, and simmer for five minutes or so, until the rice and the nettles are tender (very young nettle tops will need only two to three minutes). Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Purée the soup in two batches, reheat if necessary and check the seasoning. Serve in warmed bowls, topping each portion with a large dollop of yoghurt and a generous sprinkling of snipped chives.

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Nettle Spanakopitta - River Cottage BBC

Serves four.

Around 300g nettle tops
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp thyme leaves
100g soft goat's cheese or feta, broken into small chunks
35g pine nuts, toasted (or roughly chopped cashews)
A squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250g filo pastry
75g unsalted butter, melted

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Pick over the nettles and wash thoroughly. Discard the tougher stalks. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to boiling point and throw in the nettle tops. Bring back to a boil, blanch for a couple of minutes, then drain in a colander. When the nettles are cool enough to handle, squeeze to extract as much water as possible, then chop finely.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin, cook for a minute or two, then add the onion and sauté for five to 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the thyme. Combine the squeezed nettles with the onion mixture, then gently fold in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with a squeeze of lemon and plenty of salt and pepper, then stir in the egg.

Brush a sheet of filo pastry with melted butter and lay it butter side down in a smallish, 1.5-litre ovenproof dish. Let any excess pastry hang over the ends. Lay another buttered filo sheet on top and repeat until you've used all but one sheet of filo. Spread the nettle mixture in the dish, fold over the overhanging pastry ends to enclose, dabbing with more melted butter to keep it together. Take the final sheet of pastry, crumple it lightly, and place on top, tucking in the edges around the side – this will give the top of the pie a nicely textured finish. Dab more butter on top, bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden, and serve immediately.

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Nettle Risotto with Sorrel - River Cottage BBC

Serves two.

Around 100g young nettle tops
About 900ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
30g butter, plus extra to finish
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
175g risotto rice, such as arborio
Sorrel leaves – up to half the quantity of nettles – finely shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
50g finely grated matured goat's cheese, parmesan (or vegetarian parmesan) or other strong hard cheese, plus extra to serve

Wash the nettles, pick them over and discard the tough stalks. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a boil, throw in the nettles and bring back to a boil. Blanch for a couple of minutes, then drain. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the nettles to extract as much water as possible and chop finely.

Heat the stock until almost boiling, then keep warm over a low heat. In a large, heavy-based pan, melt the butter over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat for eight to 10 minutes, until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the rice, stir to coat the grains, pour in a third of the hot stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring, until almost all the stock has been absorbed, then add the chopped nettles and a little more stock. Keep adding stock a bit at a time, making a new addition when the previous one has been absorbed, until the rice is nicely al dente (you may not need all the stock) – around 20 minutes in all – and the texture is loose and creamy. Stir in the sorrel, and season to taste. Dot a little butter over the risotto and sprinkle on the cheese. Cover, leave for a few minutes, then stir in. Serve straight away, with more grated cheese on the table.
And, isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit. -The Tick ~~ Bible verse Revelation 6:15-17 - look it up!

HybridHomesteader
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 12:29 pm

Re: Stinging Nettle Recipes

Unread post by HybridHomesteader »

Do you think the rice is ore cooked in the first recipe? It says cook 10 min and purée. I can’t imagine that’s enough time to soften it.

I always have so much nettle. I should have cooked some.

G
Gina, Hybrid Homesteader, It'sMeG, TanksHill.... Mom, Wife, trouble maker extraordinaire.

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Farmfresh
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Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:19 pm
Location: Missouri
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Re: Stinging Nettle Recipes

Unread post by Farmfresh »

Personally I would not puree the soup. I would just let the rice go on a cook a bit longer to be done, as well. Sometimes I think people wright these recipes pretty roughly. If you watch them on the cooking shows they will SAY "add 1/4 teaspoon of pepper" and you SEE them adding about a teaspoon or more of the stuff. I think some of the times are written in the same way. Cooking rice for "10 minutes" is probably more like 12 to 20 in reality.
And, isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit. -The Tick ~~ Bible verse Revelation 6:15-17 - look it up!

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