After decades of oblivion, it is nice to see bunches of nettle in slow food or biological fruit and vegetable market stalls.
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century the nettle was considered a very important plant for use in both food and for healing / cosmetics, and some considered it a plant with ‘magical’ properties.
The nettle nourishes the body in a harmonious manner, so if you eat the nettle you keep in shape, you don’t gain weight! Better still, it is a great herb to lose those extra pounds and lose weight without suffering hunger.
What are the properties that make it so valuable?
In particular, the leaves are rich in Nitrogenous principles, amino acids and proteins.
In plain words, a plate of nettle soup is equal, from the point of view of protein nutrients, to a Florentine steak.
In addition, nettle leaves contain mineral salts such as:
- bio-available iron (more than spinach)
- magnesium
- silicon
And some trace elements such as zinc and copper; B vitamins (B2, B5 and folic acid) and vitamins A, C and E.
For no other reason in the past the nettle was cultivated in all vegetable and flower gardens and was considered the ‘meat of the poor.’ Those who owned her, guarded the family from hunger and illness.
How to prepare nettle leaves?
In the kitchen you use the soft leaves or the tops. They have a sweet, slightly astringent flavour and make lively dishes with their emerald green colour.
To handle nettle easily it is advisable to use rubber gloves and simply wash or scald in water. This washing process will remove most of the sting of the nettle leaves. You can use them fresh but also dried.
To dry them, start collecting them from April to September and cut the plants 10 centimetres above the ground. Gather them in bunches, hang them up side down in a dry, airy place, not in the sun. Then, they are stored in paper bags in a dry environment or in metal boxes or glass vases in the dark.
How to cook nettle?
Some tips on how to use the nettle leaves in your dishes and begin to lose weight by consuming this pleasant herb:
- in soups
- prepared like spinach and as a side dish
- to season risottos and pasta
- put them among the ingredients to prepare tasty omelettes
- in the Tuscan flat breads
- in sauces
- to enrich light snacks
An example of how easy it is to cook nettles and enjoy it, is this recipe:
Nettle Cream soup
Take the blender container, and put a bunch of freshly sliced and crushed nettles leaves including the tender stalks, a little parsley, 1 clove of garlic, 1 cm of freshly peeled ginger rhizome, 5 peeled almonds, ½ teaspoon of Appeto Virya®, ½ teaspoon Trikatu Virya®, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and rock salt to taste. Blend everything together to a creamy and compact consistency.
The cream should be eaten fresh, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for about two weeks if covered with oil and placed in a sealed jar.