Nettle & Spinach Spanikopita (Crustless)

*This is a guest post by Mary Angelini. Mary is passionate cook and foodie. She spends much of her free time studying cook books, dreaming up recipes, and, of course, cooking delicious foods. She is starting a small food business centered around using locally sourced ingredients—selling at local markets and providing custom-made nutritious loca meals to busy families. She lives on a suburban homestead with her family in Clarkston, MI.*

Serves 6 - 8 if made in a pie dish
Serves 4 in 8oz ramekins

Nettles are the ~perfect~ star for the classic spanikopita recipe—rich, flavorful, and super-nutritious. This time around, the dish comes without a crust, cooked in ramequins. Perfectly gluten free!

Nettle & Spinach Spanikopita (Crustless)

What You Need:

1  lb frozen chopped spinach
1 lb fresh chopped nettles
3 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp salt
30 grinds of pepper
8 oz feta (crumbled)
2 eggs
½ to 1 cup of heavy cream
1 tbsp butter (for greasing the baking dish)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


• Place frozen spinach and nettles into a pot, add water cover and bring to a boil.


• Boil for several minutes until spinach is thawed and nettles tender, about 5-8minutes.


• Drain the greens in a colander (and save the boiling water for use as soup stock forlater).  When the greens are cool enough to handle squeeze all the water out of them that you can.


• Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan.  Add the onions and saute untiltranslucent.


• In a medium sized bowl whisk the eggs, ½ cup of cream, dill, salt, and pepperwith a fork until well mixed.


•  Add the greens, onion, and feta and stir again untilcompletely mixed. If the mixture is too dry add more cream a tablespoon at a time until it is “loose” as it will firm up when baked.


• Spoon into a buttered pie dish or buttered ramekins and bake for 40 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked.

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Stinging Nettle Palak Paneer

Whilst picking nettle tops a few weeks ago, a friend and I mused about how delicious they would be if featured in the classic Indian dish Palak Paneer in place of spinach. Man, was that right on...

What You'll Need:

1 pound fresh stinging nettle tops
1 pound paneer, cubed (you can use any firm cheese such as haloumi or farmer's cheese)
1 medium onion finely sliced
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 3 inch long piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced
1/4 cup milk (can use coconut milk)
1 cup tomato sauce or puree
4 tbsp ghee (can also use butter or coconut oil)
1 whole cayenne pepper (either dry or fresh—minced if fresh)
A 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
4-6 whole cloves
4-6 whole cardamom pods
1 heaping tsp (or more to taste) coriander powder
1 heaping tsp (or more to taste) cumin powder
1 or 2 heaping tsp Garam Masala (or your favorite curry blend)
Salt to taste

• Put a pot of water on the stove at medium heat with a steamer basket.


• Wash the nettle tops and chop into rough 1 inch sections.


• When the steamer is at a rolling boil, add the nettle tops and steam for about 5 minutes, until they are very tender and bright green. Once  steamed, wash them in cold water, squeeze off the excess moisture, and set aside.


• In a medium to large pot (or dutch oven, which is ideal) heat the ghee on medium heat. Once melted, drop in your panner and fry on each side until a light golden brown. Set on a plate covered with brown paper or a paper towel once cooked.


• Drop in the onions and sweat them down until they just start to caramelize—around 5 minutes or so.


• Drop in the clove, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cook for 1 minute.


• Add all dry spices and cook for another 1 minute or so.


• Add the finely minced garlic and ginger. Cook this for around 2 minutes, until the sharpness of the garlic and ginger mellows out. Add around a 1/4 cup of water to keep the spice mixture from burning.


• While the spices cook down, either finely chop the steamed and rinsed nettles or pop them into a food processor and pulse them into a fine paste (I like to chop half and pulse the other, for a more textured end result).


• Put the tomato puree and nettles into the pan, add in the milk, and stir everything together. Cover and let cook down for 2 or 3 minutes.


• Remove the lid and stir. Add salt to taste.


• Drop in the dried paneer, stir together, and let the mixture heat on low for another 5 minutes.


• Serve over cooked rice and indulge.

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Crafting a Springtime Wild Food Meal

*This is a guest post by Lisa Rose Starner. Lisa is an urban homesteader, wildcrafter, forager, gardener, and herbalist who lives in Grand Rapids, MI. She runs a small herbal CSA and writes about local foods and herbalism. Learn more about her work @ Burdock & Rose*

Local food isn’t a trend. What we’ve been seeing in the marketplace - an increase in organics, profiles of local farmers, talk of healthy soil - these are all important facets getting more attention in a new food and wellness paradigm that is taking shape and is here to stay.

Our culture is starting to shift. We are beginning to understand the connection between healthy soil and healthy people. We are beginning to make choices and invest in good, healthful and local whole foods as part of our health *insurance.* Lifestyles are adjusting to choose values of cooking, gardening, and eating together. It’s a refreshing shift in our community’s way of life.

Springtime in Michigan is an easy time to re-visit your own commitment to living hyper-local for your health. A few popular ideas, if you haven’t considered them already include joining a Community Supported Agriculture program and perhaps cultivating your first herb and vegetable garden.

Beyond gardening, what about learning about the wild plants that live in your yard, neighborhood or nearby fields and forests? The land around us offers many different plants that can be used as wild foods and herbal preparations to keep us well, and spring is an excellent time to learn to forage - There’s nothing more hyper local or healthy!

First course: Re-wilding the Salad

[caption id="attachment_479" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="The nectar rich flowers of the violot, viola spp. A welcoming sign of spring."][/caption]

Violet leaves and flowers (Viola spp), dandelion greens and wild chives mix together well for this flavorful, spring salad of bitter greens. While the wild chives can be found in the wooded areas near your home, you may find these greens as close as your own lawn -- don’t mow these *weeds!*

Assuming you haven’t sprayed your yard with chemicals, these plants can be eaten and are highly nutritious. Don’t be scared off by the bitterness found in the dandelion - the greens are not only packed with Vitamin C, but the bitterness is exactly what our Americanized diets of salt and sweet need.

Bitter greens like dandelion help the stomach in digestion by increasing bile production and it’s a good for the liver, too. We need to integrate more of these flavors back into our processed diets.  The violet greens do not offer the strong bitter profile the dandelion green does - it is a sweeter green, with a bright flavor similar to purslane, but not as strong. It, too, is packed with Vitamin C.

The violet flowers - both white and purple are both beautiful and add a splash of color to the salad.  They are slightly sweet and can be ever so peppery.  They are very fun for children to pick with their little hands.

To harvest - Simply pick the leaves and flowers by hand, and trim the chives with scissors. To ensure maximum sweetness in the dandelion greens, harvest in the cool morning before it gets too hot (same rules apply for all salad greens) and choose the smaller, tender leavers before the plant goes to flower.

Rinse the greens in a water bath and gently dry in a tea towel if you don’t have a salad spinner. Don’t wash the flowers - they will wilt. Top the wild harvested greenery with a zingy lemon-balsamic vinaigrette.

Perfect alone or topped with anchovies for that added flavor and protein. Pairs well with a crisp white wine. I might reach for a local Michigan Riesling.

Main Course: Wildcrafted Nettle Risotto 

Many of us have met the stinging nettle (Urtica doica).  As kids, we most likely encountered them horsing around in the fields of grasses with friends, only to be surprised by those stinging plants.

But what we probably didn’t learn is how nutritious the nettle is! Nettles have great virtues as a wild edible food that nourish the body with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are very nutrient dense; rich Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, cobalt, copper, potassium, B-complex vitamins – even protein.  And they are extremely high in chlorophyll.

Look out, spinach. Pop-eye’s got a new superfood.

In seeking out the nettle, go on spring-time (April-June) hunts in areas of nutrient-rich, damp soil. One can often find them in areas that are adjacent to rivers, streams and lakes, or along drainage areas. Take care to know the area from which you are harvesting and it’s history of use -- try to avoid areas adjacent or downstream from large factories and farms.

Wear your harvesting gloves and long pants! They don’t call them *stinging* nettles for nothing! The stinging sensation and hive-like bumps that can occur from handling the nettle are caused from the hair-like needles found along the stem and leaves, and the sensation is similar to rolling in fiberglass.

Fortunately, the nettles will lose (most all) their stinging properties as they dry or are cooked (steamed or sauteed). Choose smaller leaves before the plant goes to flower mid-summer.

Once harvested, nettles can be used either fresh or dry.

If you plan on drying the nettles for use later in the season, prep them by chopping them into large pieces, taking care not to smash the fragile, fresh plant material. And do this immediately upon harvesting - you want to dry the plant in a vibrant state. You don’t want to let them wilt or deteriorate in your hot car on on the back counter.

To dry, spread them out onto racks (screens are easy for this) and let them dry completely before storing them in glass jars. If they are not completely dry before storage, they will most likely mold.

The dried leaves can be enjoyed year round added to soups and brewed as infusions for drinking.  The infusion should be left to steep overnight as to best extract the minerals of this plant.  The flavor can be a bit swampy to some, and blending the nettle infusion with a choice of green tea, jasmine tea, oatstraw and/or red clover makes it less “swampy.” Add a bit of honey to sweeten to taste and it is a refreshing, nourishing beverage that should be consumed daily.

Fresh nettles can easily replace spinach in recipes that call for the greens.  They can be lightly cooked and added to soups, egg scrambles, quiches, or other similar recipes. Bon Appetit!

Wildcrafted Nettle & Michigan Morel Risotto

What You Need:

1/4 pound young nettles (about 3 big handfuls - it will wilt like spinach)
12 oz risotto/arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry Michigan white wine (an extra glass for the chef)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped fresh Michigan morels (if lucky) or fresh shitakes
¼ cup chopped, fresh parsley
Salt, pepper to taste

• Heat the stock in a large saucepan.


• Wash the nettle leaves. Blanch for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and chop very finely. Set aside to add at the end.


• Cook onion and morels gently in half the butter in a large saucepan for a few minutes until tender.


• Add rice and cook over a slightly higher heat for 2 minutes while stirring. Pour in the wine, deglazing the pan. Cook, uncovered, until all the wine has evaporated, then add about 1 cup boiling hot stock; leave the risotto to cook, stirring occasionally and adding about 1/2 cup boiling stock at intervals as the rice absorbs the liquid.


• After about 14 - 15 minutes' cooking time the rice will be tender but still have a little 'bite' left in it when tested.  Add the prepared nettles and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring.


• Take off the heat and stir in the remaining butter which will melt and make the rice look glossy;


• Sprinkle with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently and serve immediately.

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Nutritious & Noteworthy Nettles

Stinging Nettle - Urtica dioica

Some plants have adapted to bare mechanisms of protection that humans often find very memorable. Think poison ivy, a blackberry cane, or the notorious rose—all of these plants have superficial similarities. They all let you know of their presence with a scratch, a poke, an itch or couple blood drawing nicks. It's hardly fun or enjoyable for most, and often incites grumbling and cursing. Nettles are in some ways similar to these other plants. They're known for their sting. Stinging nettles, when approached in just the right way, leave a nice burning, tingling sensation on the skin. It's hardly a tear from a blackberry thorn or a full blown poison ivy rash, but it signals something to the passerby that is worth remembering. And I think for good reason. Let us learn why.

Stinging nettle is a great beginners wild food because they are very common, easy to identify, and have a flavor and myriad of uses both delicious and familiar to the green-loving eater.

Botanical Identification

[caption id="attachment_376" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The "hairs" or trichomes that induce sting."][/caption]

Stinging nettle is an herbaceous perennial plant of the Urticaceae family. The most commonly distributed species is Urtica dioica, but many subspecies of this exist across N. America and the world. Stinging nettle is often found in definite clumps, and sometimes large stands, each plant connected via its extensive underground mat of rhizomes and stolons. The plants grow 3 to 6 foot stems which are slightly square, hollow, and have deep grooves running vertically along them. The cambian layer of the stem is comprised of many long fibers, of which the notorious nettle fiber is extracted, and from which it inherits its common name nettle—the strong fibers being used to make nets and ropes. The stem, leaves and petioles are covered with the tiny, notorious barbs or hairs that deliver its ubiquitous sting.

[caption id="attachment_371" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Nettle's leaf pattern"][/caption]

It has 2 to 5 inch long leaves that grow in opposite pairs along the stem and are generally of a dark green color. The lanceolate leaves have toothed margins (thin, long teeth), and have a crinkly texture appearance due to the visibly indented leaf veins. The leaves and petioles range in sized depending on their age and location on the plant—young leaves are short with short petioles (and often a more ovate shape and fatter toothed margins) while older leaves tend to have longer petioles and longer, more lanceolate leave, with finer toothed margins.

The flowers form in inconspicuous clusters at the nodes in mid-summer, giving the plant an almost feathery appearance along the stem. They are small, green and grow 2 to 3 inches in small clumps from the leaf axils. The very tiny seeds ripen almost invisibly in late summer and early autumn in the safety of a dusty fruit.

[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Ripening seeds"][/caption]

Ecology

Stinging nettle is a plant that wears many ecological hats, so to speak. Any organic or biodynamic gardener or farmers knows their importance in those systems. This is because it is a fairly potent dynamic accumulator. It's vast root mass brings up potassium and calcium and it's leaves contain high levels of nitrogen. The tiny stinging hairs are made of a soluble silica, a key component that promotes soil health. It has also been shown and used in studies to phytoextract and phytoremediate heavy metals such as arsenic. It has also been shown in one study to be an intermediate feeding site for beneficial predators of aphids.

[caption id="attachment_375" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="A typical nettle patch"][/caption]

Nettles generally grow on roadsides, in old field mosaics, meadows, and woodlots. They don't mind shade, and are found in large clumps near trees and mostly in soil of higher organic matter content and moisture. It is sometimes found in areas that receive large amounts of nitrates or deposits of nitrogen (pastures and so forth). Their mat of rhizomes cover soil and their yearly layering of leaf and stem rot produce a rich crumbly humus between plantings. I've also found many a nettle patch growing happily with many other species, the most common combination being stinging nettle and cleavers (Galium aparine). I generally associate the presence of nettles with a past land use and disturbance pattern that was low in compaction or leaching of nutrients—a relatively health soil foodweb and plant diversity. It will gladly and quickly inhabit open soils, especially those in hedgerows, clearings and forest edges.

Nutrition

[caption id="attachment_373" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Nettle & cleavers"][/caption]

Nettles are an extremely nutrient dense food, especially for a green. The leaves are very high in vitamins A, C and K. It is also reputed for its generous supply of iron and calcium and  a significant supply of protein (which some people say gives the smell of cooked nettles a fish-esque smell). The dark green leaves also contain high levels of magnesium and chlorophyll. It also contains

Medicinal Qualities

[caption id="attachment_370" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Nettle tea or infusion"][/caption]

Ask any herbalist what their "top ten" tonic herbs are and nettle is most likely to be mentioned. This is simply because it is a very fortifying herb with a large spectrum of uses and qualities, making it a perfect herb to consume regularly in medium to large dosages. It is especially effective in working with the liver, kidneys, arthritic conditions, allergies, and the nervous and muscular systems. The rhizomes, as I learned through Daniel Vitalis, are potent medicine for men in particular, having many androgenic compounds that aide in prostate and overall male health. The sting is also used therapeutically, and although I have yet to try it, it is reputed to aide in the relief of chronic pain, soreness and weakness associated with things like arthritis or back pain.

My favorite preparation for nettle is a tea made from the fresh or dried leaves (cut and dried in early spring) as a strong infusion. The leaves can be tinctured fresh and taken internally or used externally on sore or atrophied muscles and nerves. The seeds can also be tinctured and used similarly, although I have yet to try this. I will also use the tinctured rhizomes from time to time.

Culinary Versatility

[caption id="attachment_474" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="A skilled forager can harvest a pound of nettle shoots in 5 minutes without any gloves. Attempt at your own risk!"][/caption]

In the kitchen, I find nettles really useful in many dishes and preparations. Often, they're compared to or said to be similar to spinach. I don't think this is very accurate or helpful. Spinach has very juicy leaves, so much so that they wilt under the lightest heat and shrink almost into pulp when steamed. Nettle leaves are not very juicy. They will steam down into a pulpy texture, but overall I think of their texture as much more coarse and dry than spinach. It's helpful to keep this in mind, so that you prepare them accordingly and without expectations of spinach. For these reasons, I will generally prepare them with some liquid and always a fat—preferably butter.
[caption id="attachment_378" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Nice, young, tender shoots"][/caption]
In early spring I pick early nettle shoots when they're only 3 to 12 inches tall. The stems and leaves leaves are tender veryt ender at this stage, and they cook down quickly. I'll sautee them in butter with a touch of onion or garlic (or garlic mustard sometimes)—a little salt to taste and they're perfect.  I also love to boil-steam them in a broth, chicken especially, and serve it with some grass fed butter and miso. Nettle miso soup! You can also steam them and blend them into a pesto of sorts to serve as a spread, dip or on top of your favorite pasta. They are amazing in omelets, lasagna, casseroles, and make a fine creamy soup. I always mix them with other wild and domestic greens to make rich sauteed and steamed greens, which are practically meals unto themselves.

[caption id="attachment_372" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Nettle miso soup"][/caption]

Nettles are very rich, almost fragrant, and very hearty. A tea made from the leaves at all times during the season is refreshing and nourishing. I've heard the tea called broth, as its so much more than just a simple infusion. To make the tea, boil a quart of water. When it reaches rolling boil, drop in a generous handful of fresh nettle leaves, remove it from the heat, and cover it to steep for at least 20 minutes and up to 8 hours (overnight). The longer it sits, the darker and more rich it becomes. Come in on a hot sunny day to a chilled glass of that... The leaves are also used to make beer and last year I mixed nettle with dandelion flower and leaves to make a mead.

Wrap Up

That burning, tingling, bumpy annoying sting. That's one way to think of it. I tend to think of the sting of nettles as a reminder. If we were to use the ancient way of relating to plants and nature, "the doctrine of signatures", we might observe stinging nettles "sting" as a signature of some of its benefits. As mentioned the sting is therapeutic, much like bee stings and venoms. It opens up blood vessels and allows buildup and stagnation to pass through. That burning sensation is a signal of this action. The sting, I also think, is a mechanism for memorization. If you were to pass by a nettle, not knowing anything about it, and received its sting, you would not forget it. I did this once when I was young, ripping out with two hands a nettle plant. I never forgot. But I am not promoting masochism. What I am conveying is that the sting in the nettle might be a sign that it is a plant that has many virtues worth remembering and those little hypodermic needles along the plant are a way it ensures you won't, at the very least, forget its presence.

If all that sounds too metaphysical for you—that's fine. Nettles are still a delicious and nutritious wild food, a nourishing tonic and medicine, and a noteworthy plant worth getting to know—either way, one sting and you probably won't forget it.

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