I took a fabulous class last year called Therapeutic Whole Foods Cooking. One spring class we went into the woods around Bastyr and did some wild foraging. This was something I'd always been curious about, but in my usual 'all or nothing' way, I managed to turn wild foraging into something only really experienced and learned folks who want to live in sod houses and make their own soap would do. Walking the 50 feet from the campus into a patch of nettle, cleavers and miner's lettuce ready for eating, quickly showed me that I was wrong. There is SO MUCH FOOD growing in the Pacific Northwest. We gathered up enough for lunch and made nettle soufflé. It was seriously delicious.
Yes that's nettle as in Stinging Nettle. The evil stuff I was terrified of as a kid playing at the end of my street. We have a new relationship now.
I am, I admit, addicted to nettle. There is more nutritional value in that stingy thing than even kale - the so-called powerhouse of the green kingdom. Nettle has a ridiculous amount of calcium (10x that of kale) and many other minerals (such as iron and magnesium) as well as anti-inflammatory and immune system modulating (balancing) compounds. I have a bag of dried nettle the size of a small child stashed in an unused corner of my kitchen that I make a daily infusion from (1 oz dried nettle steeped overnight in 1 liter boiling water – strain and drink). I think of it as my multi-vitamin and overall tonic. Nettle contains quercetin, which some believe makes it useful for treating seasonal allergies. It is especially supportive to the adrenal glands, which pump out the hormones we need to deal with stress. They tend to be a little overused in our culture. Everyone can use a little support, no? The stinging part of the nettle is deactivated by drying and cooking and then it just becomes another delicious green vegetable.
Last year, the transition to Seattle and full time school (and full time caffeine overload) was a little trying on my stomach and my nerves. After sipping nettle infusion in a Therapeutic Whole Foods tea tasting I became enamored. The inky emerald brew was faintly milky and sweet. It's not surprising to me that it's so high in calcium. I find nettle calming but energizing at the same time. Ok, get the sod ready... I could go on forever about nettles!
Here's a link to a recent nettle foraging trip by Seattle chef and localvore Becky Selengut (whose cooking classes I assist in the hopes of absorbing some of her effortless, inspiring teaching style). She harvests nettles for purely gastronomic purposes paired with a healthy respect for this mineral laden local gem.
Best news yet... it's nettle season, which means - they're FREE! I think I’ll take my gloves to school, go for a walk in the trails and grab myself some nourishment.
Nettle Soufflé
Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 1 hour
1 ½ cups water
4 cups young nettle tops
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 onion or leek, minced
2 tablespoons flour (Gluten free try 1 tablespoon rice flour, 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder)
1/2 cup milk, soy milk or nettle broth
1-2 egg yolks, beaten
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Cook nettle in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Drain well; save broth. Puree nettle in blender or food processor; set aside. Sauté onion in oil until golden. Add flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Slowly add ½ cup of nettle broth or milk and cook, stirring often until dry and thick. Add a little of this at a time to the beaten egg yolk, until they are well mixed. Now stir in nettle puree and salt to taste. Last, carefully fold in egg whites. Put in a soufflé dish, bake at 350 degrees until firm, 30-40 minutes.
Adapted by Jennifer Adler from Healing Wise by Susan Weed.
Nettle Pesto
1/2 pound nettles
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
(or for the dairy free -some chopped sundried Moroccan olives - that can have an almost cheesy taste...)
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the nettles (keep them in the bag and don't handle them too much) and cook for 2 minutes.
Drain in a colander, allow to cool and press out the excess water. This yields about a cup of cooked nettles.
2. Grind the garlic, pecans, salt, and black pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the nettles, breaking them up. Add the lemon juice and whirl until the nettles are finely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Add the cheese or olives, pulse a few times, and add salt, pepper or lemon to taste.
Inspired by Anna Macnak, adapted from Vegetarian Cooking by Paul Gayler.
Enjoy!