Do you know what these are?
Take a closer look:
Like me, you may have spent most of your life feeling a bit resentful towards these pesky plants – Stinging Nettles (Nokkonen in Finnish). They are an obnoxious weed you can’t get rid of. They are annoying and persistent and sting you when you get too close. You’ll find them under raspberry bushes and in between blackberry thorns, and brushing up against your unsuspecting bare leg or arm as you walk through tall grass in the summer.
They are also one of the most nutritious wild plants out there, full of iron, calcium, Vitamins A, D and K as well as protein. They are used as a diuretic and for joint pain. They help cure hypertension. They are good for your adrenal glands and kidneys, help your body relieve stress and can help to relieve all kinds of other aches and pains. You do not need to order in Goji berries from China and pomegranates from other distant shores. You don’t need to stock up on green powders at the health food stores to get your morning dose of good stuff. This is one of the original super foods.
Annoying? Absolutely.
But oh so delicious.
I discovered that you could eat nettles one year ago. By that time, the nettles were beyond their prime and I was told I’d be better off waiting until Spring came again to pick my first crop. Finns and other people around Europe are quite familiar with the virtues of nettles. Foragers in the Northwest of the US, I have discovered, are also quite fond of these green plants with the stinging tongue – Fat of the Land covers a lot of nettle recipes in his blog, along with other wonderful Northwest delicacies – his website is definitely worth a look.
The first nettles of the season and the first I have ever consumed were picked out by the sea in Bortomsjö, near Raasepori in Southern Finland, their tips barely showing above the grass with a slight purple hue – we put on bright green gardening gloves and held tightly to the handles of our Fiskar scissors as we carefully snipped the tops for Lentil soup with nettles. Once steamed, their earthy flavor and scent surprised me – reminiscent of the forest floor.
The Spring warmed up; the nettles grew. Now they are the perfect picking height – about 10 cm and a bright green. I picked three bags full, blanched, chopped and froze them. The weekend came and we faced an empty fridge. The only thing between us and an empty stomach was a rock-hard loaf of whole grain bread, a few eggs, a little milk, some cheese, a couple of onions, and half a fennel bulb. I went out into the woods and picked a small bag of nettles to add some extra flavor and put together one of the most tasty savory bread puddings I have ever enjoyed.
Halfway through the season – now I have had stinging nettles in soup. I have had them in pancakes. I have used them instead of basil in my pesto. I have had them steamed with pike that was pan fried fewer than two hours after it grabbed the hook tossed into the sea outside of Velkua. I am dreaming of the day I will have them Italian style in the way my friends Paola and Giuseppe say they love them: in Risotto.
But this day, it was Nettle Bread Pudding that put a smile on my face.
The taste of the nettles comes through strongly in this dish, balanced pleasantly by the fennel and shallot. It’s a wonderful main course with a salad or served as a side dish with grilled chicken. If your nettles are beyond their prime for this year, you can substitute spinach and bookmark the page for next year.
Before you get excited and rush out the door with your basket to go after that crop of stinging nettles in your back yard, slow down just a minute. Put on a thick pair of jeans. Add some sturdy shoes. Grab your rubber kitchen gloves or a thick pair of work gloves. Get a pair of sharp, long scissors and take them with you. Stinging nettles are aptly named – they sting, and the stings leave little red bumps that itch like crazy. I’ve found that if you rub a raspberry or salmonberry over the nettle bite, the sting & itch go away, but it’s enough to make you grumpy and best avoided since you can. But go! It’s great fun, Nettles have good flavor, and they are good for you. And then you can get back in here and make this:
Stinging Nettle Savory Bread Pudding
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
In a large bowl combine:
8 dl / 4 cups of whole wheat bread cubes (bread with seeds & nuts is really nice here)
1 dl / 1/2 cup grated Emmental cheese or other mild white cheese
1 dl / 1/2 cup grated Parmasan cheese – use the large hole on your box grater, not the small ones for this
In another bowl combine and then set aside:
3 eggs, beaten
3 dl / 1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh parsley
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add:
1 T olive oil. When hot, add:
2 shallots, halved and sliced
1/2 Fennel bulbed, chopped roughly
Cook until the shallots and Fennel are translucent and tender. Add:
3 cups fresh nettles, rinsed and snipped into thumb-length pieces with scissors (I snip them as I add them to the frying pan – just wear your gloves ALWAYS when handling raw nettles or you’ll be very sad).
Stir the nettles into the shallot-fennel mixture and stir until bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir the vegetable mixture into the bread mixture until well combined. Pour the egg mixture over the bread-vegatable mixture until well combined. Pour the mixture into an oven proof casserole dish (a 5 cup or 1.5 liter dish or larger).
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy on the top.
Serves 4 as a main course and 8 as a side dish.