Nettles!

[blito]

just copying this recipe from the new shoots sub-forum ....

gently fry some garlic and finely chopped potato, then add a pint of whatever stock you have to hand and about a colanders worth of nettle tops (just the nice tender stuff from the top of the plnts really). Whizz it up with a blender and add either cream or a spoon of cream cheese. Takes all of 5 minutes.
Also works as nettle and leek - just swap the potatoes for leeks obviously

anyone have any other good nettle recipes?

[Nicos]

Te he...you've picked a subject close to my heart!!!

I love to pick ( carefully though!) the tips of newly growing nettles for my recipes...and look forward to that time of year!

Here have a look at this thread I posted this Spring- it copies in last years thread too!

Let us know which recipes tickle yr fancy!!

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_45418.html

[Comfreyfan]

The nettles in my garden seem to grow happily (although thankfully in smaller numbers) for most of the year - can I use the tops from nettles growing now, or is it best to use them just in Spring?

I really want to try nettle soup!

[WrexTheDragon]

I have a small patch of nettles in the garden. Good for butterflies, but I get a perpetual crop, as I just pick the tips for tea or soup.

[Nicos]

- can I use the tops from nettles growing now, or is it best to use them just in Spring?

No idea!!

I just pick them in Spring cos I know they are going to be tender....never thought about using them now

[blito]

Nettles are still actively growing so if you skim the tops off them you will get tender new shoots coming up. I guess we must be about at the end of the season for them now.

[Comfreyfan]

I was talking to a colleague today and she was quite certain that you shouldn't use nettles after May - after that they contain too much of something or other! I'll try and find out more about that I think!!

[WrexTheDragon]

Calcium carbonate can build up in nettles after the summer and this can effect your kidneys.

You can still pick the leaves from the plant, so long as they are growing away from roads and fields that have animals. The stems get very tough after they flower.

I like to let the plants grow to about a foot, then chop the whole plant back to about two inches from the ground in the spring. Then it is a case of cutting the new growth as it comes for the rest of the year until the grown dies.

[Twinkle]

I made nettle beer a couple of years ago

Looked lovely but tasted rank - worked well in slug traps though so saved me wasting proper beer in them...