Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Stinging Nettle is a perennial weed that returns each year after remaining dormant during the winter. It is fairly easy to find as it grows in moist woodlands, thickets, open areas, streambanks, and disturbed areas.
The leaves are covered with tiny, hollow, pointed hairs that contain small amounts of formic acid which can cause itching and burning if touched. For this reason we recommend using gloves or tongs when collecting and working with raw stinging nettle.
But don’t let that deter you! Heating or drying the leaves makes them perfectly safe to touch and delicious to eat! Stinging nettle has a mild taste quite similar to spinach, but without an iron flavour.
It is best harvested in the spring, before the plant starts flowering. New, younger leaves are better in taste, as the leaves can become quite bitter once the plant has started flowering Try it in soup, pesto, tea, or just sauteed.
Before foraging, take a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!
Culture Connection
ᒪᓵᐣ Masân
Although stinging nettle is often seen as something to avoid, many nations learned how to cook it and use it as medicine. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) boiled it to use for a seasoned vegetable dish.
The Nîhithaw (Woodland Cree) also boiled the plant and used it as an aid in childbirth recovery. Members of Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) used the roots as a diuretic, and the Anishnaabe (Ojibway) would soak the leaves and use them as a treatment for heat rash.
Ingredients
4 cups packed young nettle leaves
butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 large leeks, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
4 cups of vegetable or bone broth
2 tbsp lemon juice
lemon zest of 1/2 lemon
nutmeg, freshly grated to taste
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper
Method
Blanch the nettle leaves. Use tongs to place leaves in a pot of boiling water until bright green, about 30 seconds. Transfer the leaves immediately to an ice bath and strain.
In a dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant.
Add the sliced leeks and cook until softened.
Add the potatoes and broth, and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
Add the nettles, lemon juice, lemon zest, and nutmeg
Add more broth if needed, and simmer. Stir occassionally.
Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth
Add the heavy cream
Season with salt and pepper to taste