12 Nettle Recipes To Add To Your Cookbook

• Carefully pick nettles – gloves are recommended. Take only the top 4-6 inches of new unblemished spring plants that are less than 18 inches tall. Remove the leaves. You may need to rinse and pat them dry.
• Start cooking your rice.
• In a separate large soup pan melt the butter, add the onion and garlic and simmer until translucent.
• Add the chicken broth and onion and garlic mixture and nettles leaves in the soup pan and bring to a full boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point we use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
• Add the vegetables, rice and salt and pepper (and any other herbs you like) and simmer a few more minutes.

• Bring nettle and water to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Strain nettles, retaining the water – you’ll use that water to boil your pasta in later.
• Puree nettles and the eggs using immersion blender.
• Make a well out of the flour in a mixing bowl and add the nettles and eggs mixture. Mix thoroughly until you have a smooth dough ball. (You may need to add extra flour if the mixture is wet or the retained nettle water if the mixture is dry.)
• Put the ball of dough in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes.
• Roll out about 1/3 of the dough at a time into a ball.
• Cover the ball of dough with damp towel and let set aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Roll 1/3 of the dough at a time on a floured surface as thin as you would like – can be very thin or thicker if you like thick noodles.
• Cut into any length strip – as long or short as you want, or in squares if you want to make ravioli. Hang them, if possible, for about 10 minutes. We have a pasta hanger, but you can use a clean plastic hanger.
• Bring the saved nettle water to a boil again and place your green noodles into the boiling water. Cook for 3 – 8 minutes depending on the thickness.  Check them for doneness.

(To sacrifice health benefits but maximize delight, we drizzle with melted butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese.)

• Wash and pat dry the nettle. Remove the stems and discard.Finely chop the leaves.
• Bring the chicken stock and barley to a boil and simmer in a saucepan for about an hour.
• Add the nettles and diced potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about twenty to thirty minutes.
• Serve hot. Serves 4.

• Wash a large bowl of nettles and pat dry. Place them in a pan with two tablespoons of butter and simmer over low heat stirring occasionally.
• Strain.
• Add salt and an egg and beat until smooth.
• Add oatmeal until it binds together.  Let sit one hour.
• Press into about two inch patties, and fry until golden brown on both sides.
• Serve warm with bacon, cheese, or with maple syrup.

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Cut butter into the small pieces.
• Mix the dry ingredients (flour, nettle powder, baking powder and sugar).
• Add butter and mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add one egg yolk and form a ball (if one egg yolk isn’t enough, add another and then add milk (about three tablespoons) to dry ingredients until it forms a dough.
• Roll dough on parchment paper to about 1/3 inch. Cut into squares.
• Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.