I recently took my dogs on a walk to the beach with rucksack, gloves and a pair of secateurs in hand, to forage wild stinging nettles from the side of the path on the way.

One of my best childhood memories is of making Stinging Nettle soup on a campfire in the woods when visiting cousins who lived in a commune – it’s a memory that I always long to recreate.

Prickly Goodness

Stinging nettles are packed with many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants including vitamins A,C, D, E, K plus folate and other B vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, betacarotene and chlorophyll.   They taste a little like spinach and have many uses in cooking, to make a refreshing and beneficial tea and are great for use on hair and skin.

Spring is a perfect time to forage for nettles as it’s best to use the young tender leaves in cooking and for tea.

Do be careful to pick from nettle patches away from the pollution of busy roads, out of reach of passing animals and ensure that they will not have been sprayed with chemicals.

Some insects use nettles on which to lay their eggs, the ladybird being one of them, so always check for stowaways!  It’s also best to take from a few different areas to ensure that you are not overly depleting nature’s larder.

Wild Delights  

I made a delicious Nettle Pesto, large quantities of Nettle Tea and a Nettle Hair Tonic with my beach walk bag of nettle booty!  Campfire Stinging Nettle soup next time…

NB: it’s sensible to try a little of whatever you have made with your nettles to check for any reactions first.  If you are pregnant or taking medication, it may be wise to speak with a health professional to check for any contraindications when consuming nettles.  

Recipes

I followed the River Cottage recipe for my pesto.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/nettle-pesto

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has some other very tempting recipes including a Nettle Spanakopita and Nettle & Sorrel Risotto (plus the soup I craved and still haven’t made!).

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/30/nettle-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall

Nettle Tea

To make my stash of prepared nettle tea, I used one cup of nettle leaves for every two cups of water. I simply added the nettle leaves to the water and brought to the boil, simmered for 15 minutes and then strained into an airtight container to keep in the fridge.  I use a little of this cooled tea as a base for a fresh cup or pot by simply adding boiling water to obtain the strength of flavour I enjoy.

Nettle Hair and Scalp Tonic

1 cup of nettle leaves

2 cups of boiling water

2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar

Simmer nettle leaves for 15 minutes in water.  Leave to cool and add vinegar. Rinse hair several times with mixture after shampooing and massage tonic into scalp.  No need to rinse afterwards with fresh water.

Nettles have been said to strengthen hair roots, stimulate hair growth and calm itchy skin whilst the vinegar restores natural PH balance to the scalp.