Stinging Nettle is so much more than just an herbal tea. It’s actually food! Deeply nourishing, tasty, food. If you haven’t already discovered the the magickal and medicinal properties of Nettle, you can do that HERE. Let’s get down to recipes.
Nettle Pesto
Rosemary Gladstar | Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide
There are as many recipes for making pesto as there are cooks in Italy! Here’s another to add to the collection.
Ingredients:
1-2 cups olive oil
½ cup chopped pine nuts, walnuts, or cashews
2-3 cloves garlic
several handfuls of freshly picked nettles
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheesecloth
To make the pesto:
Combine the olive oil, nuts, and garlic in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Add the nettles (yes, raw and unsteamed!) a handful at a time and blend thoroughly, until the pesto becomes a creamy paste. (As long as you blend well, making sure the nettle has been pureed thoroughly, there won’t be any sting.) Add the Parmesan and stir well.
Creamy Nettle-Potato Soup
Rosemary Gladstar | Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide
A perfect “remedy” for those recovering from illness, where a nourishing, easy to digest meal is just what the herbalist ordered.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2-3 medium potatoes, chopped into small cubes
2 quarts broth (herbal, chicken, or vegetarian)
several large handfuls of nettle leaf
grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
To make the soup:
- Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sautee until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and sautee until soft, 8 to10 minutes.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Then add several large handfuls of fresh nettles to the pot. Cover and let steam until the nettles and potatoes and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Puree the soup. Season to taste with the Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
Nettle Leaf Shortbread
Jackie Johnson, ND | Herbal Acadamey
Adapted from Je Cusine Les Plantes by Amandine GeersIngredients
Ingredients:
5½ ounces of butter at room temperature
10½ ounces of plain flour
2½ ounces sugar (powdered sugar will make them less sweet)
3 tablespoons nettle leaf finely chopped (powdered)
½ teaspoons baking powder
1 or 2 egg yolks
Directions
- 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.
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Sources
Gladstar, R. (2012) Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide. Massachusetts. Storey Publishing
Johnson, J. (2015) 12 Nettle Recipes to Add to Your Cookbook. The Herbal Academy. https://theherbalacademy.com/12-nettle-recipes-to-add-to-your-cookbook/
Young, D. (unknown publishing date) Foraged Foods: Creamy Nettle Soup. Nitty Gritty Life. https://nittygrittylife.com/foraged-foods-creamy-nettle-soup/
Notes from my studies at Vintage Remedies: School of Natural Health.
Additional information collected from various sources including personal experience and synthesized in my personal materia medica.
