This morning I woke up on a mission to find some Nettles so that we could make our first Nettle crisps of the year. I had seen some last week growing along the hedges and although I hadn't seen a lot I knew there would be enough to make some yummy crisps. I brought with us some gardening gloves and a pair of scissors (a must when collecting Nettle Leaves) and we were on our way. It was such a beautiful morning for a walk, we headed out bright and early before the rains came and we were greeted by so many signs of Spring! We saw Daisies, Daffodils, Crocuses, Snowdrops, and Lesser Celandine's and it really made us feel that spring is on its way. Nixie is so excited for spring and to be able to do more foraging, she has had so many ideas for recipes and I really hope we are able to turn some of them into reality! 

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 As we reached our little spot where I had hoped we would find some I was not disappointed. Nixie put on her gloves and grabbed the scissors and started collecting as many leaves as she could. She struggled a bit with her gloves (too big) and using the scissors at the same time so it wasn't long before I took over and she held the bag open for me. Forrest was happily sitting in the buggy watching what we were doing (he is rarely ever in it these days but he had requested it and it did make it a lot easier for us!)

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 When we got home, Nixie wanted to add to her nature/New Forest book and spent some time drawing the flowers we saw on our walk and labelling them and then I cleaned the Nettles and got them all ready to go in the oven. 

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 Ingredients: (Can be adapted to your own taste buds!)

  • As much young Nettle leaves as you'd like but at least enough to fill a sandwich bag
  • About 2 TBS oil of your choice 
  • Salt
  • Crushed red pepper flakes or Cayenne or smoked Paprika
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Nutritional Yeast

and here's another recipe that we love as well: 

  • 1-2 TBS Tahini 
  • .5 TBS Sesame oil
  • 1.5 TBS olive oil
  • juice of half a lime
  • salt & pepper

and another:

  • 1-2 tbsp. Sesame Oil
  • 1-2 tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1-2 tbsp. Miso
  • 1 tbsp. Soya Sauce
  • Furikake

Instructions:

1. Wash your Nettles. 

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2. Put the oil and seasoning into a bowl and mix it up. Toss in your leaves. once they are coated in your dressing they lose their sting!

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3. Place onto a baking sheet, do not have them overlap.

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4. Bake in over for around 130C for 20-25 min or until they are crispy.

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I really really love these crisps, it may be a lot of effort for not very much but so worth it in my opinion, I can't get enough of them and cannot wait to make more! Not only are these delicious but nettles are a superfood too full of vitamins and minerals especially iron, calcium, vitamin A and K, and fiber. 

We first started making things with Nettles just last year and as we come more into spring we will share some other things we like to make.