Stinging nettle is considered a medicinal plant, and its benefits are very diverse. In addition, nettle has been used in cooking since ancient times, because nettle leaves have an exquisite taste and useful properties. Almost all European cuisines offer some kind of dishes from it. You can prepare a variety of delicious and healthy nettle dishes. The burning leaves of this plant can be added to borsch and other soups, to cook nettle soup and green cabbage soup from them, to prepare various salads and other dishes.
Instructions
Step 1
To prepare nettles, harvest them in May when they are still “young”. Early nettle leaves are still tender, they are the richest in nutrients. Rinse the leaves well before cooking, you can also scald them with boiling water.
Step 2
Nettle soups are very beneficial for health, and they are favorite dishes of different peoples. A very tasty dish of young nettle - spring nettle soup. To prepare it, peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes, then put them in boiling water and cook. Sort the nettles, rinse, scald with boiling water and chop finely. In addition to nettle leaves, you can add chopped sorrel, which must also be sorted out and washed first. Then add it to the boiling potatoes 7-10 minutes before cooking.
Step 3
Lightly fry the grated carrots and finely chopped onions in a pan, which must be added at the end of cooking. Also add bay leaves and spices to taste. And cook the soup over low heat for 3-5 minutes. You can add a hard-boiled diced egg to the soup bowl. Add mayonnaise or sour cream to taste.
Step 4
Nettle can be used to make delicious and healthy salads. Only young leaves are suitable for this purpose, since they are not so hard. To prepare "Spring" salad, young leaves of sorrel and nettle (250-300 g each) and 100 g of green onions, rinse thoroughly, dry and chop finely. Then mix it all with 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped. Add mayonnaise, soy sauce, or vegetable oil to taste. Salt, or better sprinkle the salad with lemon wedge juice. you can also decorate the salad with radishes, and if desired, add pre-washed and chopped dandelion leaves or plantain.
Step 5
A nettle omelet is perfect for a light breakfast. Beat 2 eggs and combine with rinsed and finely chopped nettle leaves. Season to taste and pour the mixture into a hot skillet. You can decorate the finished omelet with herbs.
Step 6
To make cottage cheese with nettles, rub 200 g of cottage cheese through a sieve or on a fine grater, and then mix this mass with one glass of finely chopped nettle leaves. Add 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp. mustard and 3 tbsp. vegetable oil. This exotic vitamin "green curd" will diversify your menu.
Step 7
Another interesting dish is nettle meatballs. Boil 100 g of nettle in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, discard on a sieve or colander, and then chop. Then mix 200 g of thick millet porridge with herbs and make meatballs. Bake in the oven and serve with any sauce you like.
Step 8
What is nettle good for? It is very rich in salts and contains a lot of iron, potassium and sulfur. Nettle leaves contain carotene, silicic, ascorbic, formic and pantothenic acids, vitamins. In addition, it cleanses the body of metabolic products and improves blood composition.
