THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Nettles - Wild & Free!

Famed for her passion for natural food, sustainability and biodiversity, who better than Darina Allen to bring weeds to your table - as delicious superfoods.

Where you see weeds, I see dinner!
Thanks to the recent spell of fine weather, spring is well and truly making itself felt, with the trees bursting into leaf and the crows making a terrific racket in the trees behind the house. They have been stealing the sheep's wool I’ve been using to mulch around the currant and berry bushes to line their nests, so the chicks are super cosy.

There's so much to choose from at this time of the year, but nothing deserves to be celebrated more than the humble nettle. It's both a food and a medicine, wild, free and bursting with vitamins. The young tender leaves are deliciously mild and abundant in both the countryside and urban areas.

We make nettle beer, using a much-loved recipe from my book Forgotten Skills. It is ready to drink in 5-6 weeks and you can't imagine how delicious it is.

The much maligned nettle is truly a super food. Our ancestors were well aware of its medicinal properties. My grandfather used to insist that it was of the utmost importance to eat four 'feeds' of nettles during the month of May, to clear the blood after winter. We now know that they are indeed rich in vitamins and minerals from calcium, magnesium to potassium. They are also loaded with Vitamin A, C, K and B and the leaves are high in protein.

There are many references in indigenous folklore. Manuscripts of the early monks referred to nettles and perennial leeks being added to pottages, so we've somehow known from time began how nutritious and beneficial this prolific weed is to both human and animal health. A common saying was 'a pot of nettles in May is health for a year and a day'. They were commonly used in folk medicine to treat various ailments, arthritis, rheumatism and hay fever and were believed to promote lactation in nursing mothers.

And have you heard of Nettlemas? This was a tradition in parts of County Cork, a particularly fun custom where the boys chased each other and sometimes the girls with nettles on 'Nettlemas night' (30th April) – the night before May Day. Similar traditions existed in parts of the UK, Scotland and Europe.

We have several nettle varieties here in Ireland, red dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum), white dead-nettle (Lamium album), and cut-leaved dead-nettle (Lamium galeopsifolia) but the specific variety I'm referring to here is the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). We've all been stung by nettles but it’s handy to know that if you just brush lightly against nettles they will sting, but not if you grasp them firmly – and, since childhood, we've known to seek out the trusty dock leaf that will always be growing close by as an antidote to the burning sting.

You need to wear rubber gloves when picking nettles of course, and they cannot be eaten raw, but they lose their sting when cooked, dried or blended. They're also a brilliant addition to poultry food and the compost heap. They decompose quickly, provide a rich source of nitrogen and are increasingly used for cordage, dying and weaving a natural fabric, similar to linen. Who knew that the often despised nettle could have so many attributes, one of nature's most versatile and beneficial plants.

But, in recent times, nettles have been coming into their own as a much sought-after ingredient for trendy chefs and can be grown as a crop. We have been delighted by the demand for organic nettles at our stall at the farmers’ market in nearby Midleton - they wilt quickly though, so use them fast. Young nettles are not only mild, delicious, loaded with iron and super nutritious – they are also very versatile in the kitchen. Just a few suggestions for ways to enjoy them would include potato and nettle soup, nettle tea, nettle pesto, nettle champ or colcannon, nettle smoothies, nettle and ricotta pizza... or you can just sneak a few into any greens. So I like to blanch a few batches and then freeze for another time.

A few recipes to try:

Indian Spiced Stinging Nettle Soup 
This is an Indian spiced lentil soup (dal) that tastes brilliant with the addition of nettles which can of course be swapped out with any seasonal leafy green vegetable e.g. spinach or chard. Serves 4

Ingredients
50ml extra virgin olive oil
200g onion, diced
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tsp freshly roasted and ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp black mustard seed
185g red lentils
1 litre homemade chicken stock
150g washed nettle leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt and a pinch of sugar to taste
Garnish
natural yoghurt
fresh coriander leaves

Method
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and sweat until lightly browned. Add the garlic and all of the spices and fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and aromatic. Next, add the lentils, chicken stock and washed nettles. Simmer until the lentils are cooked, 10-15 minutes approx.
Add salt and a pinch of sugar to taste.
Delicious served with naan bread and a dollop of natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of coriander leaves.

Nettle & Spinach Soup
A recipe from Maura O’Connell’s wonderful book My Wild Atlantic Kitchen, Recipes & Recollections, this is a beautiful green springtime soup, made using only young delicately flavoured nettles. This soup is delicious, nourishing and has such a beautiful vibrant green colour.

Ingredients Serves 6-8
115g/4oz butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 floury potatoes (e.g. Golden Wonder or Kerr's Pink), peeled, cooked and diced
900g/21b fresh spinach, washed
2 handfuls of young nettle leaves, stems removed (using gloves) and thoroughly washed
1140ml/2 pints vegetable stock
Some freshly grated nutmeg (optional).

Method
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. Add the onions and garlic and gently sweat with the lid on for 10 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the washed spinach and nettles. Add the cooked potatoes followed by the vegetable stock, turn up the heat and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Blitz the soup using a hand blender, or food processor in batches. Season the soup to taste, adding some freshly grated nutmeg if you'd like.
Serve hot with a swirl of cream on top and freshly baked bread on the side.

Julia’s Melted Nettles with Pomegranate Syrup 
A friend in the UK told me about this delicious flavour combination.

Serves 4
225g young Spring nettles
25g butter or 2-3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (available some SuperValus, Tesco etc)

Using gloves, remove the leaves from the stalks. Wash the nettles well under cold water. Plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain well. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
To serve:
Heat a couple of tablespoons of butter or extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add the blanched nettles, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses, taste and correct seasoning. Add a little more molasses if necessary. It’s difficult to say how much because different brands vary in intensity.

NEWS: Ballymaloe Festival of Food (16-18th May 2025)
Taste the Test Kitchen
Thinking of starting a food business? The Ballymaloe Festival of Food is offering 'up and coming' food producers the opportunity to test their products at the festival. Get real life feedback from the public and invited chefs.
Supported by Local Enterprise Office South CORK.
Contact bree@ballymaloe.com for more information

http://www.cookingisfun.ie/