Nettle Soup

Try this basic nettle soup recipe, then get creative and find your own favorite version. What is your favorite addition? Let us know in the comments below!

1/2 of a 5-gallon bucket nettles
6 cups water or stock
Lots of garlic
Some onion
Salt, pepper, and tabasco to taste
Butter (optional)

Simmer all ingredients. After about 15 minutes, add garlic and onion, then simmer 5 minutes more. Pulse or puree in blender. Optional: add a blob of butter to the pot.

Infinitely variable to individual preference!

We thank Brenda for this recipe, which is her favorite nettle recipe.

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Posted on April 11, 2014

Wild Salad Greens

These nutritious greens are ones you might enjoy picking and tossing into raw salads: chickweed, miner’s lettuce, purslane, oxeye daisy, lambsquarters, sheep sorrel, field mustards, and hairy bittercress. Finding the herb and nibbling on a leaf will give you the best idea of how to incorporate it into salads, soups, stews, sandwich fillings, etc. Each one has in individual texture and taste that is unique to its being. The chickweed and miner’s lettuce are more delicate in flavor; the purslane and sheep sorrel tend towards the bitter side; the oxeye daisy, field mustards and hairy bittercress are more peppery and the lambsquarters has a deeper flavor. You can also use the young lambsquarters as you would nettles. It makes a delicious steamed veggie.

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Posted on April 11, 2014

About Cabbage Raab

We get pretty excited about raabs, especially cabbage raab, at this time of year.

In the spring, we are all getting just a little tired of root vegetables, even if they are delicious. Just in time, the brassicae send up their flowering heads and they are sweet and oh, so tender. We call these shoots “raab,” not to be confused with broccoli rabe, which is actually a variety of broccoli in and of itself.

One of the sweeter raabs that we have at Nash’s is from green cabbage. Other raabs come from various kales, Brussels sprouts, arugula, mizuna and collards. But the cabbage raab seems to put all its natural sugars into its growth in the spring.

Brassicae raabs are thought to detoxify carcinogens and are useful in many forms. Almost all parts (stems, roots, flowers, leaves and seeds) can be used as food. They are crunchy and much sweeter than you would imagine.

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Posted on March 28, 2014

Pork and Cabbage Raab Stirfry

Cabbage raab is as beautiful to the eye as it is to the taste.

Several slices bacon or pork belly
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bunches cabbage raab (or other raab), bottom ends trimmed
Dash olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne to taste (optional)
Brown rice or cooked whole grains

Cut several slices of bacon or pork belly into small pieces and sauté with garlic in a frying pan until the bacon starts to brown. Remove and set aside.

Wash raab and trim off the bottom ends. Cut the rest—stalk, leaves, florets and all—into 1-inch pieces. Add a little olive oil to the pork drippings and sauté the raab until it starts to wilt. Cover and let it cook for a few minutes more until tender.

Remove from heat and stir in pork and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a little cayenne if you like a bit of a kick. This tastes great on a bed of brown rice, or on cooked whole grain, like triticale or rye berries.

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Posted on March 28, 2014

Sauteed Cabbage Raab

Use either green cabbage raab or red cabbage raab for this tasty seasonal dish.

3-4 slices bacon or pork belly, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bunches cabbage raab, washed and ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Saute bacon or pork belly with garlic in a frying pan until the bacon starts to brown. Remove and set aside.

Cut raab (stalk, leaves, florets and all) into one-inch pieces. Add olive oil to the pork drippings and saute raab until it starts to wilt. Cover and let it cook for a few minutes more until tender.

Remove from heat and stir in pork and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste and a little cayenne if you like a bit of a kick. This tastes great on a bed of brown rice or on cooked whole grain, like triticale or rye berries.

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Posted on March 21, 2014

Brussels Sprouts with Parsnips

Brussels sprouts make a lovely pairing with parsnips — both visually and tastefully.

2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
6 medium parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss vegetables with oil, salt and pepper on 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread into single layers. Roast, rotating sheets halfway through, until tender and golden, about 20 minutes.

Divide pecans between sheets and roast 10 minutes more. Toss and serve.

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Posted on March 14, 2014

Traditional Beef Brisket and Vegetables

Looking for an Irish entree for Saint Paddy’s Day? Try a traditional beef brisket.

3 1/2 pounds beef brisket
20 peppercorns
10 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Nash’s mustard seeds
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon salt
3 turnips, peeled and quartered
6 red potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 medium carrots, cut into thirds
1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
Prepared horseradish to taste

Place brisket in a large Dutch oven and cover brisket with an inch of water. Add peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, mustard seeds, cinnamon sticks, and salt to the pot.

Turn burner on high and bring liquid to a low boil. Reduce heat until liquid is at a low simmer. Cover tightly and cook for 4 hours or until you can easily insert a fork into the beef.

Carefully transfer meat to a large plate and cover with foil to keep the meat warm.

Add the turnips, potatoes, carrots and cabbage to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the liquid to a high simmer. Cook, adjusting heat down if water starts to boil, until vegetables are tender.

Slice brisket against the grain into thin slices and plate with vegetables and some of the broth. Serve with horseradish sauce.

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Posted on March 6, 2014

Sweet Potato and Sausage Bisque

Nash’s ground pork comes in several varieties, including Italian, breakfast, and unseasoned.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 pounds Nash’s Italian sausage
2 carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 celery stalks, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, quartered and separated
4 cloves garlic, quartered
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
Juice of lime
Yogurt (optional)

In Dutch oven or soup pot, saute vegetables and spices in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until soft.

While potatoes cook, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet on medium and cook sausage until nicely caramelized on both sides. Set aside.
When potatoes are done, transfer soup to blender or food processor and puree until smooth. You may need to add water to thin. Return soup to Dutch oven, add sausage and lime juice, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour into individual bowls and top with a dollop of yogurt (optional).

We thank chef Annie McHale of Port Angeles for this recipe.

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Posted on March 6, 2014

Sunchoke Rosemary Chips

Use sunchokes in place of potatoes — for example, make sunchoke chips. The advantage: sunchokes don’t cause a spike in blood sugar like potatoes do.

1/2 pound large sunchokes
1 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Slice sunchokes lengthwise 1/8 inch thick and toss with salt. Place slices on paper towels in a single layer, cover with 2 paper towels and let sit 15 minutes, pressing to absorb liquid.

In a bowl, gently toss sunchokes with olive oil and rosemary. Place in single layer on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake, flipping halfway through, until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.

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Posted on February 28, 2014

Six Nettle Recipes

Young nettles are easily blanched and frozen to enjoy year round. They are easy to dry as well for healthy herbal teas.

Farmer’s Nettle Frittata
Saute red onions, mushrooms in season, grated carrot, finely sliced broccoli spears and minced chickweed together in olive oil until wilted. Add a handful of minced young nettle stalk and leaves on top, cover and let steam until nettles wilt. Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of eggs, minced parsley and dried basil. Stir well and pour it over the steaming veggies. Place a cover on the pan, wait until eggs set, then flip until done. Delicious as is or with salsa or chickweed pesto.

Leek, Chickweed and Nettle Soup
Saute chopped leeks, celery and crushed garlic cloves in olive oil until soft; add diced potatoes (I use russets or Yukon golds). Add minced chickweed, nettles, parsley, dried basil, turmeric, salt and perhaps a bit more oil or butter. Saute a few minutes more, mixing all the ingredients well to blend the flavors. Cover with stock or water and simmer until everything is tender. Other veggies can be added, such as tomatoes, grated carrots, or perhaps a tin of salmon added at the end for even more variety. Unlike most leek and potato soup recipes, I do not use milk or cream as an ingredient, nor do I find a need to puree if the ingredients are diced small enough, as everything seems to meld together just fine.

Nettle Lasagna
Any spinach lasagna recipe will do for nettle lasagna with the obvious substitution of sauteed or steamed young nettles. If you make your own noodles, toss a spoonful of dried nettle powder into your flour mixture for added nutrition or into your homemade tomato sauce.

Nettle Quiche
Again, there are countless recipes for making quiches. My favorite is from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. Since I make my own crusts, sometimes I’ll throw in a tablespoon of dried nettle powder with my flours. For the filling, I use a large handful of chopped and steamed nettles, along with sauteed onions, mushrooms in season, chopped broccoli, and an assortment of fresh and dried herbs laid on a bed of feta and shredded raw cheddar cheeses. Over that goes an egg-and-milk mixture to which I might mix in an additional tablespoon of flour depending on how moist my ingredients are.

Nettle Greens Medley
Saute slivers of red onion and garlic in olive oil or coconut oil until translucent. Add equal amounts of chopped Swiss chard and nettle tops. Pour in a small quantity of water, cover with lid and steam until wilted and tender. Mix gently to blend the veggies and oil, sprinkle on some sea salt and serve.

Sesanelp
A seasoning mixture of sesame seeds, nettle seed and nettle herb plus kelp and Celtic salt. Tasty! Roast 1/2 cup sesame seed in a frying pan to your liking. Cool. To a blender add cooled sesame seeds, 2/3 cup of nettle seed, 2 tablespoons dried nettle herb, 2 tablespoons kelp granules and 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt. Blend till fine. Store in a glass jar. Goes great with a wide variety of foods. My morning toast is sprouted grain bread with a dribble of olive oil topped with this mixture and nutritional yeast. Yum!

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Posted on February 20, 2014