Wild Stinging Nettle Hummus

I've declared in the past that nettles are my favourite weed to eat and I mean it.

In the past I've made Nettle Risotto, Nettle Gnocchi, Nettle Tortilla and many others, but this time round as my harvest was very small (from the garden), I made a small bowl of Nettle Hummus.  

I actually made it this rather green  Nettle Hummus at the weekend as an evening nibble to be enjoyed with a glass of red wine.  Normally I would serve hummus with home-made pitta chips or crispy chunky bread, but this time round it was with some rather posh crackers that had quinoa, spelt and poppy seeds.

Even though we enjoyed the green nettle hummus with these crackers, we still had some hummus left over and were able to use it as a spread in our sandwiches in place of butter. Other than having a bit of a garlic breath, the sandwich was good.

Previously shared Hummus Recipes on my blog
Carrot Hummus - July 2014
Beetroot Hummus - February 2013
Wild Garlic Hummus April 2011 
Traditional Hummus January 2010 

Wild Nettle  Hummus
Your will need
Ingredients
A good bowl full of nettles, stripped from the stalk, washed and then blanched in simmering water for a few minutes.  Drain, set aside.  When cool, squish out as much water as you can with your hands.
1 x 400g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of a lemon
Olive oil
1 teaspoon Tahini
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a food processor blend all the ingredients to taste.

Savoury Nettle, Ground Elder and Spinach 'Eccles' Cakes

I've written about Eccles cakes on my blog in the past, but for those of you may not be familiar with Eccles cakes - I am happy to write about them again.  Eccles cakes are a particular kind of English cake. Individual flaky pastries filled with either currants or raisins, glazed and coated in crunchy sugar grains.   Eccles cakes are believed to have originated in a little place called Eccles, formerly within the Lancashire boundary but this has been debated by some food historians who argue that similar types of sweet patties were being made elsewhere in England.  To add to this, these sweet patties are known by different names. I’ve known them to be called Squashed Fly Cake, and even a Fly's Graveyard.  I’ve been told that they also exist in Scotland, but in a very different guise: simply as a fruit slice.  Something else of interest though, the word ‘eccles’ actually means church and is derived from the Greek word ‘Ecclestia' - Interesting, don't you think?!  

Well here is a savoury take on the sweet variety: made with Stilton cheese and my hedgerow scrummage of nettles and ground elder.  I also stirred in some spinach to the mix, only because I had some in the fridge.  The other reason, I highlight spinach it, if you don't have the opportunity to forage for some free wild foodie greens like nettles, wild garlic, mustard garlic or ground elder - then spinach will be a good alternative.    Anyway, back to this particular  savoury 'Eccles' cake - the pastry was light and flaky, (sometimes ready made comes in hand - yes even for me); and the filling was creamy and salty from the cheese, and silky from the sauteed robust greens. 

My preference for eating these savoury 'Eccles' cakes if definitely warm, but they would work well cold too, especially at room temperature. So perfect for taking to work for lunch or summer time picnics for those of you blessed with sunshine.  Talking of weather, the rain has been pelting down all day and the skies have been proper dark, even though its day-time, its feels like the evening.

Wild Weed Tortilla

Last year I think I overdosed on wild garlic, not literally - just in a culinary sense.  I dubbed my two week wild garlic culinary binge as The Wild Garlic Chronicles, even cheekily Wild Garlic Girl.  So as you can imagine, I have been a little hesitant foraging for some this year, but whilst driving through a narrow lane a week or so back, I spotted some growing and decided to return to forage for some.  On return the wild garlic was shooting up its edible flower buds like firework sparklers.   

Its funny, around this time I struggled to find many Wild Garlic recipes in cookbooks and on the Internet, but this year - wow - there has been an explosion both the Internet and blogosphere and you can find lots of ideas and inspiration for your foraged wild garlic.  Other than the usual pestos, soups, breads, pasta dishes, potato cakes and egg dishes like frittata, souffles and quiches, you will find it in scones, quinoa patties to deep or shallow fried fritters, added to 'curry style' dishes, as well as enhancing traditional recipes like basic pastry, coleslaw, mayonnaise, aioli and salsa verdes .  Anyway, this was going to be a plain old 'Wild Garlic Tortilla', but having briefly visited my Dads allotment a couple of days ago I picked some wild stinging nettle and in my own garden some young dandelion leaves, so I decided to add some of these to the tortilla.  I wanted a little more texture too, so in place of my usual garden peas, I also threw in some cooked chickpeas.

I garnished the completed Wild Weed Tortilla with wild garlic flowers for optional extra heat, for those who dared for a little extra bite. 

I eat weeds

One of the things I got used to when I had my allotment plot was the weeds, including the edible ones such as stinging nettle. Whilst weeding, one of challenges was getting past the 'pins and needles' like sting that lingered under your skin for hours. I even got courageous and decided to become intimately acquainted with with the taste of cooked young, spring nettles. I have to confess, the flavour was absolutely delightful. It is a unique flavour, one that I cannot easily describe. But I will try, it is peppery, rocket (arugula) and spinach like. It also reminded me of Welsh laver bread.

I read somewhere that you can actually eat nettles raw, but I have not braved that yet. Instead before attempting to eat them in any state, I have washed them, then blanched and drained them. Before chopping them up for whatever dish. In the past it has been used in recipes such as stinging nettle soup and wild nettle gnocchi. Both highly recommended.
The bowl above has actually come from my very own garden. Strange as this time last year, I had none at all and now I have it sprouting here and there. So I feel somewhat blessed. I carefully prized the stinging nettle leaves away from the stalks, they weighed just over 100g. Unfortunately it was not enough to make nettle wine with, so I will have to make a point of foraging for some in the lovely Scottish countryside or wherever the opportunity presents. Anyway, it was enough to make some wild nettle risotto. Wild nettle risotto was the first dish I ever made with stinging nettle and I was totally converted to eating this weed.

If you do decide to pick nettle, firstly wear gloves and try to pick it away from the beaten track, or in locations where traffic, hence pollution is low. When picking them, pick the young tender leaves and wash thoroughly, you don’t know what four legged animal has been near it.

Stinging Nettle Risotto
Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
2 – 2 ½ pints of vegetable stock
100g nettle leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots
250g Arborio rice
2 – 3 fat cloves of garlic, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and drop in the nettles for 30 seconds, remove and cool them under cold water, drain and chop them quite finely. Lower the heat and keep the stock at a low simmer.
In a saucepan, heat the oil, add the shallots and cook until translucent then add in the rice and stir well to coat the grains. Cook the rice gently for a few minutes, stirring often, then add the garlic and nettles and cook for a couple of minutes, before adding a ladle of the stock, and continue to simmer until it is all but absorbed. Add another ladle of stock and carry on stirring until is absorbed and adding more until all of the rice is just cooked and the dish is still moist. This should take about 25 – 35 minutes. Season well and serve immediately with optional grating of hard cheese. Adapted from Denis Cotters Wild Garlic, gooseberries and me.

Wild stinging nettle

When I got back home from the allotment yesterday, I took the nettle leaves of the stems and weighed them. I only managed to collect 60g nettle leaves, not the 150g I needed for the gnocchi recipe. The amount I had would have to do for our meal. Surprisingly nettle loses most of its stinginess after an hour of so after picking.

I tried nettle for the first time last year, encouraged by Denis Cotters recipe for Nettle Risotto which was absolutely delicious. It is a taste that I cannot describe, but I would encourage you to try it, even if it is as Nettle soup. And no, it won’t sting your tongue whilst your eating it.

Wild Nettle and potato Gnocchi

Serves four or six as a starter

Ingredients

600g floury potato, peeled

60g young nettle leaves

60g hard goat cheese, grated. I used St Helens Farm goat cheese

1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper to taste

100g plain flour, you may need extra depending on potato consistency

1 tablespoon of olive oil

4 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of fresh sage leaves, if small keep whole, if large chop them.

3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

100g goats cheese, grated for sprinkling

Method
For the gnocchi chop the potatoes into even sized pieces and boil them until tender. Mash the potatoes. Cook the nettle leaves for 5 minutes in boiling water, and then cool under cold water. Squeeze out all the water and mince the nettles as fine as you can with a knife of mezzaluna, then stir into the potato mash. Add 60g of grated cheese, egg yolk and season to taste. Add the flour and blend thoroughly.

Take a handful of potato mix and roll into a long tubular shape and cut of pieces into an inch long and place onto floured surface. Do this until all the potato mix has been used.

To cook gnocchi, drop batches into a large saucepan of boiling water. The gnocchi is done when it floats to the surface. Remove the cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon until all are cooked. You can refrigerate at this stage, or freeze them for up to 10 days, but do coat in a little plain flour.

For butter sauce. Add oil and butter in a pan and fry garlic and sage leaves for a couple of minutes, then add the gnocchi stirring gently to reheat.

Share out the gnocchi between plates and sprinkle over the grated goats cheese. Serve immediately.

Inspired by Denis Cotters Wild Garlic, gooseberries and me