Nettle: The Ingredient Edit
by Senior Gardener, Victoria Bowsher & Chef Director, Charlie Hibbert
“The sting of the nettle is but nothing compared to the pain that it heals” Lelord Kordel
The Common Stinging Nettle
The humble stinging nettle has a rich history. It has long been believed that originally stinging nettles were brought to the UK by the Romans for use as a natural remedy to fight ailments caused by the cold. Before the introduction of flax, nettles were a commonly used to make cloth,
Poet Thomas Campbell once wrote about sleeping in nettle sheets and eating off a nettle tablecloth! Being the first readily available green of the year, the bright leaves of the stinging nettle provide us with a rich source of antioxidants and vitamins C & A to support the immune system.
From a gardener’s perspective:
As a gardener, it is easy to think of nettles as a nuisance weed and a mean one at that. but they have been eaten and used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years.
Nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, potassium, manganese and calcium. They can be found everywhere, in woodlands and meadows, by streams, wastelands, grassy places, on roadsides and in gardens. Nettles are best picked in early spring and fill a gap where other greens are not yet available, they should be harvested when they are young, taking just the top 4 to 6 leaves. Nettles can be cooked and served in a similar way to spinach, dried and used to make teas or even used in cheese making as a vegetarian alternative to rennet.
From a chef’s perspective:
From a handful of nettles simply infused in boiling water, to using the leaves as greens in a risotto, nettles are a vibrant and delicious plant to cook with. In the Spring months, I like to use the young nettle tops for making soup, or in purees and pastas. They have a lovely rich, earthy flavour which gives the nettles a large variety of uses. In the mid to late summer, the seeds of the nettle can be dried then sprinkled on foods or used like a dried herb.
Delicious nettle soup
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