Nettle Ravioli Recipe How to Make Nettle Ravioli at Home (2024)

FAQs

How do you process stinging nettles? ›

Boil nettles in water (blanch) for 2-3 minutes to remove the sting. Drain, let cool and roughly chop. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.

Roots, seeds, stems and young, tender leaves are all edible. Native Indigenous people use stinging nettle for medicine, ceremony and as a food source. Mature fibrous stems have been used to make rope, cloth and fishing net.

Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting. But leave them for too long and - like spinach - the leaves will wilt too far, and start to lose flavour, texture and goodness.

It's the simplest way of getting nettle into your body, but you can also cook it into larger dishes or even apply it topically if you have a skin irritation. Because the stings have to remain firm to cause the irritation, cooking the leaf instantly makes them safe – don't try to eat the leaf raw in a salad or anything.

Stinging nettle can be eaten on its own or as an ingredient in foods. Nettle leaves must first be cooked or steamed to destroy the hairs on them, which contain a number of irritating chemicals. Most medicinal uses of stinging nettle use more of the plant than you would typically eat.

It's a common, multi-purpose crop that's sometimes overlooked. Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America are all home to stinging nettle. It is a plant that's edible and has nutritional and medicinal properties. Young leaves can be used to make curries, herb soups, and sour soups.

Nettle tea benefits the kidneys by increasing urine output and uric acid removal. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it improves kidney function and urinary flow. Nettle tea is a natural diuretic that promotes proper fluid flow in the kidneys and bladder, preventing kidney stones from forming.

Due to a lack of research, children under the age of 12 years should also avoid nettle. It is important that people with existing conditions and those who take certain medications speak with a healthcare professional before trying nettle. This includes people who take: diuretics.

The only “difference” is that the leaf is merely a part of the whole plant. Stinging nettle can be divided into six subspecies, and five of them have stinging hairs called trichomes, which will inject chemicals that produce a stinging sensation upon contact.

How do you prepare nettles for cooking? ›

Squeeze the nettles as dry as possible before sautéing them. Once your nettles are cleaned or blanched, heat up a large pan over high heat—the wideness of the pan or skillet will help any liquid cook off quickly so the nettles sauté instead of steam. Add the oil or preferred cooking fat.

Keep those gloves on while you wash the nettles thoroughly, discarding bugs, grass and other unwanted organic matter, then drop them into a pan of boiling water or stock. As soon as they hit the hot stuff, the sting is vanquished and you can eat them with impunity and considerable relish.

At the first sign of nettles flowering and going to seed, you should stop picking the leaves – the plant starts to produce microscopic rods of calcium carbonate, which when absorbed into the body can interfere with our kidney function.

Nettle-Picking Tips

Pick the young leaves from the tips. Use rubber gloves or pinch the leaves hard, so you don't get stung. Once picked, lay the nettles out on a tray to wilt. Once wilted they can no longer sting you.

Stinging nettles are delicious, but before consuming them it is important to take out the sting. The key to neutralizing the stinging agent is to use moist heat (either blanching or steaming) to lightly cook them before touching or consuming them.

Harvest the nettles by cutting off only the upper leaves (no larger than about 3” wide). Check the undersides of the leaves to make sure there is no white spittle present. Since you want only the leaves, you'll save yourself a lot of effort later by cutting the leaves from the stems as you go.

When wilted, strip the leaves off the tough stems. Always cook nettles to destroy the stinging acid. Nettles are not suitable for raw salads! Collect the biggest leaves, then wash them in very hot water, neutralising the stinging chemicals and making them safe to eat.