Meddling with the Nettles

Stinging Nettles.  Urtica Dioica.  Bane of my childhood forays into the woods and in later years, during my "Native American" phase, a source of fiber used to make an incredibly strong bow string.  This week was my first experience harvesting, cooking and eating them.  They were delicious.

The harvest site:  

A large colony of young nettles on the south side of the family barn in Kelso, Wa.

I was inspired to eat nettles by a recent dinner at DOC, where Damon and I enjoyed a course of petrale sole, corona beans and nettles in browned butter.  Though I searched and didn't really find much in the way of recipes that resembled the above, I did find quite a bit of info on how to gather, process and cook nettles.  I knew in advance that they are best harvested young, which they still are here in late March.  I did not know, however, that even these lush young shoots carry as much sting as the full grown version. You must wear gloves--and thick ones!  Surgical gloves are not enough.
The top three or four inches of the nettle shoot is the only part you harvest.  The older the plant and the further down the stem, the more fibrous they are (there is a reason why nettles have been used for centuries for rope and cloth).
Once gathered, it's to the kitchen for blanching time......

Gloves are still necessary until the nettles are tossed into a pot of boiling water and blanched for 2-3 minutes.  This process renders them stingless.

Plunged into cold water to stop the cooking.......

Then drained and squeezed dry in a towel and chopped fine.  This is actually where the recipe I chose begins, for a Goat Cheese and Nettle Tart,  courtesy of the blog called "Clogs" of a chef in Seattle.

Chopped nettles are tossed with shallot sauteed in butter and placed in a tart crust.  Then poured over with two eggs beaten with heavy cream and curds of goat cheese.  Into the oven it goes.

Nettles are very nutritious.  Loaded with vitamins, they are regarded similar to dandelion greens and such as a "spring tonic".  I'm not so sure how cleansing they are after being loaded with cream and goat cheese!....but hopefully the benefits were still there.  Damon described their flavor quite accurately as a "cross of spinach, mint and parsely".  It was enjoyed (and gone) by all (except Beatrice) with a dinner of roast chicken and asparagus.