Find Nettle in the woods and learn how to use and prepare Nettle in teas and cooking.
Spring Nettle Harvest
First signs of buds on the trees and warmer breezes wafting (and sometimes blazing) through the marina mean Nettles have sprung just about anywhere hikers have disturbed forest floors and nearby paths. Suddenly, I had a deep craving for rich and earthy greens made into a hearty pesto only Nettle could satisfy. I sprung to action and headed slightly more west to shake my legs and invigorate blood on my favorite loop trail spanning over 500 acres with overlooks pouring over Salish sea. All the while keeping my eyes to the ground in case a Nettle patch showed themselves.
They were not hard to find.
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| Nettles |
Although still shorter than my calves, I wasn’t past the parking lot when they appeared in their full stinging glory.
Nettle’s sting has been used as a remedy across centuries for arthritis and contains the same formic acid that bees and ants have to agitate skin, causing swelling and redness. The redness that you see is fresh blood rushing to the area to help counteract the foreign sting, great for people who have difficulty circulating blood to very chronic painful joints due to cold and blood stagnation.
Not a fun sensation to most, I quite like the lingering sting Nettle brings when I accidently graze her, or when she peeks through from a hole in my glove. Sometimes several hours later I’ll still feel the gentler sting lingering somewhere, like a playful kiss reminding me to tread respectfully.
I remember a summer when a past boyfriend and I were hired to work a fancy private farm to dinner event in upstate New York. My boyfriend brought Nettles along, fresh from the land we were living on, that reached almost to our hips in height. When the chef, who was running the event with his wife, got agitated and overwhelmed, he went outside, took off his shirt and ordered my boyfriend to whack him with the Nettles. He let out animal cries and “yips” as red blotches bloomed across his back. The sensations brought him to a new heightened state as he returned enlivened and wincing to the kitchen.
How can one worry about the pressure at hand with the newfound rambling pins in the back to keep the mind occupied?
I don’t recommend this BUT I will say the memory stuck with me and so does Nettle.
After completing the loop trail, I returned to that first patch and asked some of the Nettle to come with me for the sake of human sustenance and nourishment. I slid on my leather gloves and began to pick these lovely tops until I had a hearty bundle while the area I picked from still looked quite full.
Medicinal Properties
I didn’t realize it in the moment but I was two weeks premesntrual and struggling with PMS and heavy painful periods for over a year. Some place in my body knew it was time to reintegrate Nettle. Nettle is a known tonic for the uterus and is used to ease heavy menstruation and as a tonifier during pregnancy. As a diuretic, Nettle helps to reduce edema, breast tenderness and support PMS as well as enriches and increas milk flow and supporting restoration and rebuilding energy postpartum. Leading research is finding Nettle to reduce hay-fever and allergy related symptoms. As always it is best to chat with your healthcare provider when adding new herbs and herbal teas to your routine.
Preparation
I came home to make pesto and was immediately brought back to my mother’s kitchen, experimenting with these fresh herbs in cooking for the first time. You can eat the early Nettles fresh but I like to steam them, especially as these ones left a few stings on me that lasted several hours. Recommended preparation: Wearing thick gloves, carefully pull the leaves off the stems and place in a colander. Rinse the leaves in cold water, remove any debris and place leaves in a cooking pot. Pour boiling water over leaves, enough to cover the entire area, and let sit with the lid on for ten minutes. Once the leaves are steamed you no longer need gloves. After ten minutes, remove the leaves from the dark liquid, and set liquid aside. Rinse leaves with cool water and squeeze out as much water as you can. Use caution as the inside of the leaves may still be hot. You can drink the dark green waters as a tea. I found two ounces of the earthy, salty elixir was enough for me to feel grounded and for my kidneys to tell me I’d had enough. You could save this tea in your fridge and have a small warm cup each day a week before menses if you have heavy periods.
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Follow any pesto recipe you like and replace the nettles with the basil or other herbs you might use. A nettle pesto will result in an earthier and more subtle pesto than a basil or cilantro pesto. To liven, I add a bit of fresh parsley and an extra garlic clove. Here’s my recipe below:
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup nut of your choosing (I use toasted walnuts, unsalted pistachios or almonds)
- ½ cup steamed and squeezed nettle (looks like two cups fresh)
- ½ cup parsley or basil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup grated parmesan (optional)
Instructions
- Grind nuts and garlic cloves in cuisinart or blender until meal consistency is achieved.
- Add nettles, basil or parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper (and parmesan if using). Blend for 15 seconds, stopping and starting until desired consistency is achieved.
- Add more salt, pepper or olive oil if needed.
- Serve right away or refrigerate in airtight container for up to three days.
To add an extra element of deliciousness I made ricotta spinach ravioli so the pesto could have a nice bed to sit on. Come to think of it, I could have used the extra Nettles to replace the spinach but the spinach needed to be used. I used this recipe, skeptical of the nutmeg, and it turned out delicious.
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| Ravioli with Nettle Pesto |
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| Ravioli with Nettle Pesto |
The deep and rich flavors of the pesto accompanying the brightness of the ravioli were exactly what I was craving and I will be trying variations as the summer goes on.
Nettle’s sting has since left but I know we will have many more encounters this summer.
Special thanks to Rosemary Gladstar’s book Herbal Healing for Women for herbal information.
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| Nettles |
