I made stinging nettle pesto last night and it was SO GOOD (especially with aged garlic goat cheese I made last year). Now I'm having more for breakfast on toast with eggs.

And not only are stinging nettles tasty, I didn't have to plant them! They just grow (and much, much earlier than any greens I could plant). Yay stinging nettles!

@sundogplanets

In traditional Italian cuisine there are many preparations using the Urtica dioica.

@sundogplanets big W

@sundogplanets ooh, do you kinda just substitute the nettle for (all? some of?) the basil? doesn't it need cooking to deactivate?

I've been growing "some" (iykyk) but the soup/purée I've made a few times hasn't been a hit 😅

@sundogplanets YES. That sounds so delicious! I love nettles so much, and around here at least they host so many butterflies

@sundogplanets @ai6yr !!!

@sundogplanets

Can you eat them raw? I got stung hard the other day so I figured I needed to cook them so they don't sting. Wondering if it's possible to eat raw.

@chu @sundogplanets Blending will deactivate the sting, or you can blanche the nettles first

@beandreams @chu I always cook them, but I have read that blending does work (haven't been brave enough to test it though). Oh, you can also freeze them to deactivate the sting!

@Brett_E_Carlock I've made nettle and mint tea, that's also very nice! Nettle ravioli filling sounds amazing

@sundogplanets Soooooo good, and more iron than spinach, I believe. I like to wilt them and add to leftover mashed potato to make nettle tattie cakes, and fry up with eggs.

@andy That sounds SO GOOD! We just planted the last of our potatoes, so no more potatoes until later in the year. I'll try to remember to try this (though the nettles aren't as tender later in the year)

@sundogplanets I had no idea they could be eaten. Though I suppose most plants can be. Now on the hunt for some. I mostly remember them from when I lived in the UK.