Nettles

[goldenticket]

I posted my question in the Nettles thread in Farmers Markets, but thought I'd throw it out here, too. Any great/tasty recipes for stinging nettles?

[monavano]

I *knew* there had to be nettles thread around here somewhere! I picked some up on Saturday at the Del Ray Market - it was nice to see Wheatland Farm there, even it may only be for a few weeks.

Any suggestions on what to do with them? I bought them because the stinging nettle velouté at Restaurant Eve is one of my favorites. I may go with Julia Child's base for watercress soup, but if anyone has used them in an interesting way I'd love to hear about it.

I bought 2 bunches at Dupont this week. I made pesto (I've had Eve's nettle soup and I was hesitant to try my hand at it fearing huge disappointment in comparison!) and was really happy with the results. I used it to garnish cauliflower and potato soup. I saved it in 2 batches and froze it for future use. Ideas include using it for pasta.

For preparation, don gloves (I'm sure you know this, but I did get "stung" a bit). Rubber gloves would be great, but I only had latex disposable gloves on hand. I did OK with the thin gloves when I pulled the leaves off. When I got cheeky and thought tried pulling the leaves off backwards en mass got the stingers going through my right glove. I doubled up.

I blanched the leaves in salted water for 2-3 minutes (it wilts FAST, like spinach-fast, so don't overdo it) then drained and ran under cold water to stop cooking. Then I used a basic method for making pesto; blend with evoo, garlic, s&p, nuts (pistachios) and cheese (pecorino).

I purposefully held back on the evoo, so it came out thick. Prior to using it for garnish, I thinned it out a tad with chicken stock and heated it. The reason being is that I find the amount of evoo it takes to get pesto to a thin consistency is overwhelming to me.

[giant shrimp]

I *knew* there had to be nettles thread around here somewhere! I picked some up on Saturday at the Del Ray Market - it was nice to see Wheatland Farm there, even it may only be for a few weeks.

Any suggestions on what to do with them? I bought them because the stinging nettle velouté at Restaurant Eve is one of my favorites. I may go with Julia Child's base for watercress soup, but if anyone has used them in an interesting way I'd love to hear about it.

deborah madison has a nettles soup recipe in her "local flavors" book, although there is more chard in this than anything else. it's a good soup though, a puree, based on an easy vegetable stock. (google deborah madison and nettle soup, and it will come up.)

it's best to cook your nettles first, briefly, before stemming them when the stems are thick.

they also last a long time in the refrigerator. i checked mine this morning, more than a week old, and they were still stinging.

[Anna Blume]

There are relevant posts elsewhere, here, so try a search or two.

Recipes go back to Ancient Rome, e.g. a nettle frittata which I made last year.

Brits make very fresh tasting soups. I tried a variation of Elizabeth Schneider's disappointing recommendations for a spring tonic in which she calls for water and equal amounts of nettles and sorrel. Leek. Potato.

I dispensed w the sorrel and made a vegetable broth to amp up flavor. Puréed only to a certain degree to retain bits/bites of green. Next time, I'd use much more of a full-fat buttermilk and minimal amounts broth. Didn't bother to blanch first.

Schneider says you can mince uncooked leaves, very, very fine and add them to salad. The chopping dispels stinging properties of the acid on spines.

[giant shrimp]

Schneider says you can mince uncooked leaves, very, very fine and add them to salad. The chopping dispels stinging properties of the acid on spines.

please let us know how this turns out.

[goldenticket]

I used Clotilde's recipe for soupe aux orties as my guide. The recipe is very similar to Julia C's potato and leek base from the "Primal Soups" section of Julia's Kitchen Wisdom, with the former using onions where the latter uses leeks. I also trusted giant shrimp's advice about cooking the nettles first. Plunging them in boiling water for a few minutes took away any sting and made it very easy to remove the leaves from the stalks.

The finished product is a beautiful emerald color with, as mdt described, a very "green" flavor. I had the soup with some Ryvita crackers which, for my taste-buds, caused a shift toward "earthy". This was a very simple soup, both in preparation and flavor. It might be jazzed up with the addition of a little crème fraiche or sour cream or, as Clotilde suggests, a little rouille.

[Anna Blume]

Yesterday Stefano bought some nettles at the farmers' market to make gnocchi for The Copper Pot.

[monavano]

Yesterday Stefano bought some nettles at the farmers' market to make gnocchi for The Copper Pot.

nettle gnocchi-say that three times fast!

[Anna Blume]

Brits make very fresh tasting soups. I tried a variation of Elizabeth Schneider's disappointing recommendations for a spring tonic in which she calls for water and equal amounts of nettles and sorrel. Leek. Potato.

Wish that I consulted this topic yesterday since I forgot the buttermilk. This time, though, I transformed some frozen bean-cooking liquid into a more flavorful broth with leek greens, watercress and parsley stems, pan drippings from a roasted chicken and potato peelings. Stewed thinly sliced potatoes in with softening leeks and green garlic, butter and olive oil. Didn't purée at all to keep the soup substantive. Added whole milk and snipped chives to a portion of the deliberately thick mixture and that wasn't enough. Creme fraiche for leftovers.

[monavano]

I was pleased with this week's nettle soup. I used 3 bunches of Next Step nettles. The little f*&kers stung me a few times but I neutralized them by plunging into simmering water for 6-7 minutes. After a cold rinse and cooling a bit, the leaves were easy to pull off, if not a tad tedious.

I then sauteed up leeks and garlic in evoo and butter and added the nettle leaves and chicken stock. Let simmer for 12 min or so before pouring into the Vitamix for a really thorough puree*. Returned to pot and added a handful of Pecorino. Tempered 2 egg yolks and half and half with the soup, and poured the mixture back into the soup. Heated until thickened.

Served with Fage.

*I should have used my chinois to really get the soup as smooth as possible before proceeding because it still had a slight grainy texture. So, not Eve worthy, but a better attempt than last year when I chicken out and made pesto.

[Anna Blume]

^I saw your photo and it looks gorgeous! I personally didn't want a purée and was aiming for a very light, tart, fresh preparation similar to something once prepared by a vegetarian who spent formative years in England where nettles are popular.

Last Thursday, Attila of Mt. View Farm brought sorrel to the farmers market in Penn Quarter. Even though my leftovers were kind of long-in-tooth at this point, the addition of creme fraiche and chopped, sautéed sorrel greatly improved the soup. I intend to make this one more time, but w buttermilk and perhaps no broth at all, using sorrel.

I do not recommend boiling the leaves for 6-7 minutes before rinsing them and adding them to the soup. It's not necessary and you're losing both nutritional value and bright, fresh flavor. The acid in the leaves disappears quickly in whatever liquid you use for your soup; there's no potential harm or discomfort.

In preparing leaves for cooking, I wore thin, skin-tight gardening gloves that have plastic-coated palms and snipped the leaves from stems w scissors. Rinsed leaves in cold water. Then I wore a thin plastic produce bag on each hand while chopping the leaves. 1 bunch of leaves is fine for 3-4 servings. Happy camper.

[betsysbites]

i made a nettle and green garlic soup earlier this week with nettles from Next Step Produce (Dupont market). it turned out well, and the nettles made the soup the most vivid green color i've ever seen. i also agree that nettle leaves only have to be blanched for about 2 minutes. and definitely wear gloves!

here's the recipe i came up with: http://www.betsysbites.com/2011/04/nettle-and-green-garlic-soup/