In our nursery, we offer various wild greens. Nettle, Miner's Lettuce, Redwood Sorrell, Violets, Checkermallows, and more!
Nettles are a native food so nutritious and delicious (and medicinal), they have been actively used for thousands of years in cultures across the globe. They just need to be dried or blanched first to neutralize the stinging hairs. That’s right, nettle leaves are a high-protein (up to 25%), low-calorie source of essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins, particularly for vegetarian diets.
In particular, Nettle scores very high in Vitamin A, calcium, and iron. In fact, there are stories of people who have lived entirely off Nettles (albeit, they turned green...). And they taste good, too - like a flavor combination of spinach and cucumber. They can also be made into a nutritious, earthy tea. Now, this is a true native superfood!
There are so many uses for Nettles. But lately, we've been juicing fresh nettles for a high nutrient boost!
But what to do with our nettle pulp? We came across this simple and awesome recipe from Craft Invaders for Nettle Fruit Leather!
Ingredients:
The leftover strained nettles (which was originally 200g of nettle tops)
4 large Bramley Apples
4 Large Pears
300mls Water
But the Nettle creativity doesn't stop there! There are so many different ways to enjoy this plant. One of our favorites is Nettle Chips. Another is Nettle Soup. Yet another is Nettle smoothies! (I just had one today - Nettle/Banana is a great combo.).
Enjoy the Spring!