Delicious nettle recipes

Nettle dishes have many vitamins. The use of this burning herb in food will make up for the lack of minerals and diversify the usual dishes. Simple nettle recipes will suit any home cook and do not require special ingredients and skills.

The use of nettle in cooking

The high content of vitamins and trace elements in nettles allows you to get the maximum benefit from the dishes for the whole organism. In some European countries, the plant is grown and cultivated. For adherents of a vegetarian diet, nettle has become a source of protein – it contains 2 times more protein than some legumes.

Can nettles be eaten fresh?

Nettles can and should be eaten fresh. The weed retains its beneficial properties if not subjected to heat treatment. In this case, it is important to carefully prepare the grass and make it not burning. Nettles won’t bite if you douse them in boiling water and then rinse them in cold water.

The content of vitamins in nettle

Nettle is a real storehouse of trace elements. It contains zinc, iron, potassium, phosphorus, copper. The use of dishes from the weed:

• promotes anti-inflammatory effect;
• improves blood clotting;
• favorably affects skin tone;
• heals from some diseases of the liver and genitourinary system.

In addition, it is worth eating nettles to remove toxins from the body. Cellulose and lignin polysaccharides contained in the weed, vitamins from groups A, B, C, E, K help to get rid of excess toxins.

When nettles begin to grow

Young nettles appear in spring. In mid-latitudes, it begins to grow already in March. The most common type of weed is stinging nettle. You can collect the plant all spring and up to June inclusive.

What can be cooked from young nettles

Young nettles have a wide range of uses in cooking. Acting as a supplement to various kinds of food, the weed increases its benefits. By itself, the herb rarely determines the entire taste of the dish, but will become a savory note in any form.

Salads

The fastest use of nettle in cooking is the addition of vegetable salad, the herb will not add a defining taste, but will become a mysterious and useful ingredient. Weed pairs well with any raw vegetable and is excellent in a vegetable oil-vinegar sauce.

Kashi

Nettle is used as a basis for cereals, as well as an addition. You can argue about the benefits of herbs for a long time, but the dish has an unusual taste for sure. As a decoration and to increase the benefits, the weed is added to buckwheat and pearl barley, millet and rice groats.

First course

You can cook nettle as a first course in different ways. The most common are soups with weed and cereals, lean cabbage soup or meat broth. Fresh summer recipes will be botvinya and okroshka.

Okroshka

May nettle will be a great addition to the traditional okroshka. To prepare this refreshing summer dish, you will need the following ingredients:

• medium cucumber – 4 pcs.;
• radish – 5-6 pcs.;
• green onion – 50 gr.;
• dill – 100 gr.;
• nettle – 400 gr.;
• eggs – 4 pcs .;
• sour cream – to taste;
• salt – to taste.

Stages of preparation:

1. The first step is to rinse the nettle and pour boiling water over it. After 10 minutes, when the weed loses its burning properties, rinse the ingredient with cold water. Pat dry with paper towel. Make puree from washed and soaked nettles.

   

2. Cut radishes, cucumbers, onions, dill. Mix all ingredients with kvass, add nettle puree, salt.

   

3. Serve with sour cream and hard boiled egg. Okroshka with herbs will turn out to be a thick and light dish.

Main dishes

You can cook young nettles in many ways, including as second courses. Various kinds of light and healthy breakfasts, hearty dinners, meat food – all this can be in harmony with the grass. Nettle recipes for food do not differ in the abundance of products and the complexity of execution.

Pilaf

For a lean tasty pilaf, you will need the ingredients:

• young nettle – 300 gr.;
• onion – 200 gr.;
• carrots – 200 gr.;
• rice / barley – 2 cups;
• water – 1 l;
• garlic – 1 head;
• vegetable oil – 100 ml.;
• salt – to taste;
• ground pepper – to taste.

1. The first stage is the preparation of nettles. It must be washed and kept for several minutes in boiling water. Chop the herbs, onions. Grate carrots on a coarse grater. Saute the chopped ingredients in oil until tender.
2. 3 Boil and mix the cereal with previously prepared foods.
3. Salt and pepper, add chopped garlic. Do not subject the dish to further heat treatment.

Omelet

A hearty and healthy breakfast of eggs is in the diet of many. There are enough recipes for this nettle dish: the priceless vitamin herb is a beneficial addition to classic food. To make an omelet with weed, you will need:

• nettle – 100 gr.;
• medium eggs – 4 pcs.;
• sour cream – 1 tbsp. spoon;
• spices to taste;
• butter – 30 gr.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse the nettles, pour boiling water over them – as always, to eliminate the burning sensation. Cut in small pieces.

   

2. Break the eggs into a deep bowl, add sour cream, salt and spices. Mix thoroughly, add chopped herbs.

   

3. Melt the butter in a frying pan, pour the mixture into it. Fry over low heat until the workpiece is completely set.
4. Turn the omelet onto a plate – it has a brown crust and a delicate filling.

   

Cutlets

These lean and healthy meatballs are a great light dinner for vegetarian lovers. A small calorie content makes the nettle dish a godsend for losing weight. You will need the following ingredients:

• young nettle – 300 gr.;
• onion – 1 pcs .;
• white beans – 100 gr.;
• wheat flour – 4 tbsp. a spoon;
• vegetable oil – 100 gr.;
• spices to taste;
• salt – to taste.

1. First, you need to soak the beans overnight. Then grind it and onion in a blender until absolutely homogeneous puree.
2. For a couple of minutes, place the grass in boiling water, rinse with cold water, chop. Combine all ingredients, add salt and spices.
3. Form cutlets of the desired size from the mass, roll in flour and fry in vegetable oil.

Sauces

Young nettle recipes include many versions of this vitamin weed. For big fans of piquant herbal taste, there are several options for sauces. They will serve as an excellent addition to the usual dishes and significantly increase the useful properties.

For the first version of the sauce you will need the following products:

• nettle – 3 medium bunches;
• pine nuts or walnuts – 2-3 handfuls;
• olive oil – 7 tbsp. spoons;
• parmesan cheese – 4 tbsp. spoons;
• salt – to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Grind the nettle processed in boiling water with oil in a blender.
2. Add nuts, grated cheese and salt to the mixture. Everything must be brought to a homogeneous mass.
3. This sauce can be stored in a vacuum jar or served fresh.

For the second recipe:

• nettle – 500 gr.;
• onion – 1 pcs .;
• flour – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• olive oil – 50 gr.;
• chicken broth – 200 gr.;
• sour cream – 50 gr.;
• salt and spices to taste.

Recipe algorithm:

1. Rinse the nettle and boil in salted water for 5 minutes, finely chop.
2. Fry the flour in a pan until creamy, add butter and chopped onion to the mixture. When the mass becomes golden, pour in the chicken broth and chopped nettles.
3. After boiling the sauce, add sour cream, remove from heat.
4. Before serving, decorate the dish with herbs.

Bakery products

One of the more unusual uses of nettle in cooking is baking. The ingredients are still little different from traditional food. Here are some recipes for extraordinary delicious dishes from a young weed.

Cupcakes

To prepare delicious chocolate-nettle muffins you will need:

• wheat flour – 1,5 cups;
• cocoa powder – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• nettle young chopped – 1 cup;
• brown sugar – 2/3 cup;
• medium eggs – 2 pcs.;
• vegetable oil – ½ cup;
• milk – ¾ cup;
• baking powder – 2 tsp.

Recipe steps:

1. Pour boiling water over the nettle to eliminate the burning properties. Cool in ice water – this will preserve the fresh rich green color of the grass. Pat dry with paper towels, finely chop.

   

2. Beat eggs with brown sugar. You need to get air foam. Separately mix flour, baking powder and cocoa.

   

3. Pour vegetable oil and milk into the egg-sugar mixture, mix. Add dry composition and achieve a homogeneous mass.
4. Add chopped nettle to the finished dough. Stir.

   

5. Pour 3/4 of the dough into cupcake molds, decorate with a nettle leaf treated with boiling water. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.

   

6. When serving, sprinkle the finished dish with powdered sugar.

Casserole

For the casserole you will need:

• millet groats – 100 gr.;
• semolina – 5 tbsp. spoons;
• young nettle – 50 gr.;
• egg – 1 pcs .;
• water – 400 ml;
• onion – 100 gr.;
• garlic – 2 tooth;
• sunflower oil – 1 tbsp. a spoon;
• butter – to taste;
• salt and spices to taste.

Cooking process:

1. First you need to boil the millet. To do this, pour the cereal with broth: it is permissible to use vegetable, chicken or meat. Cook until the water has completely evaporated.

   

2. Scald the nettle with boiling water for several minutes. Rinse with cool water. For the casserole, you only need leaves. Dry the herb with paper towels and chop.

   

3. Chop the onion and garlic into small pieces, fry until golden brown in sunflower oil. Add fried vegetables to millet groats and mix thoroughly. Crack the egg into the mixture.
4. Add chopped nettle. Add semolina, salt and pepper to taste.

   

5. Lubricate the casserole dish with butter and pour the finished mass into it. Put a piece of the same oil on top.
6. Bake at a temperature of 190-200 degrees for 30 minutes.

   

Fritters

Making stinging nettles for breakfast isn’t just an omelet – here’s another quick and easy recipe for a hearty, healthy start to the day.

Ingredients:

• kefir – 0,5 l;
• eggs – 3 pcs .;
• baking powder – 1 teaspoon;
• sugar – 2 pinches;
• salt – 1/3 tsp;
• wheat flour – 2 cups;
• nettle, dill and parsley – 50 gr each;
• sunflower oil – 4 tbsp. spoons.

Cooking steps:

1. In kefir, break chicken eggs and add salt and sugar, pepper. Mix thoroughly.

   

2. Mix the sifted flour with the baking powder and pour the dry mixture into the kefir mass.
3. Chop greens. It is not necessary to treat the nettle with boiling water – when frying in a pan, it will lose its pungency.
4. Add greens to the dough, mix.

   

5. Fry pancakes in sunflower oil until golden brown.

   

Beverages

Nettle’s fresh grassy taste is great for making cold drinks. The savory notes make weed shakes and smoothies an unusual addition to the usual diet and are a rich source of vitamins. Drinks effectively fight thirst and are suitable for the summer period.

Dessert

Young nettles are suitable not only for main dishes, but also for various sweets. There are not so many benefits from dessert food, but the variety for real sweet teeth is unforgettable. Here are some options for cooking nettles in the form of recipes.

Pudding

Ingredients:

• pumpkin puree – 2 cups;
• semolina – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• chicken egg – 2 pcs .;
• raisins – 1 tbsp. a spoon;
• chopped nettle – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• cottage cheese with sour cream 1:1 – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• salt and sugar – to taste

Recipe algorithm:

1. Grind the peeled pumpkin in a meat grinder along with nettles and raisins.
2. Add eggs, semolina and salt to the resulting mass. Bring to a homogeneous state.
3. The form for the future pudding is not completely filled.
4. Cook for 25 minutes in a water bath.
5. Serve with a mixture of cottage cheese and sour cream.

Marmalade

For a sweet herbal dessert you will need:

• water – 100 g.;
• sugar – 100 gr.;
• gelatin – 50 g.;
• young nettle (leaves) – 30 gr.;
• juice of ¼ lemon;
• orange juice – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• powdered sugar – 30 gr.;
• vanillin to taste.

Step-by-step cooking:

1. Mix vanilla and sugar thoroughly in water. Add gelatin to the sweet solution, stir until the granules disappear completely.

   

2. Pour boiling water over the nettle, then cold water. Dry. Grind with a blender to a liquid puree. Add lemon and orange juice to the herbal mass.

   

3. Mix all ingredients. Pour into ice cube trays and chill. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when serving.

   

Limitations and contraindications

Nettle is not recommended for use when:

• varicose veins;
• atherosclerosis;
• increased blood density;
• high blood pressure.

The weed owes all contraindications to its hemostatic properties.

Can pregnant women eat nettles?

Nettle is strongly not recommended for pregnant women. It can cause miscarriage. Weed dishes should be excluded for this period. However, nursing mothers, in the absence of contraindications, this herb will be useful for lactation.

Conclusion

Nettle dishes are an amazing and unique source of nutrients. Weed foods have a lot of vitamins while being lean. Culinary ingenuity helps to beat the herb in cooking and make it an unusual addition to everyday food.