04.21.08
Don’t Fear the Nettles
The fun thing about being a professional chef is the ability to work with ingredients that are not only hard to find, but in many cases are ones I have never heard of. It’s the collaboration with those who are more experienced than me that make my career into a daily learning experience. Sure, I can’t wait for the day to come when I’m the one with all the answers and experience, but in the meantime, I’m of course enjoying the chance to learn everything I can so I’ll be ready.
 Pretty soon, every garden in Northern Virginia will look like this… |
Springtime is upon us here in DC, and with the return of greenery on the trees and flowers on the azaleas comes a resurgence of fresh vegetables that are once again available. Even in this modern age we are subject to some degree of seasonality with respect to what ingredients we have to surrender in the winter months.
As I squeezed into our management office (read: closet) to begin my daily paperwork a few days back, chef stopped me and told me the latest ingredient he wanted me to hunt down.
“I want some stinging nettles, Matt,” he said.
Since he had not prefaced this as I did for you that this was an ingredient request, this sentence at first seemed a tad odd to me. The somewhat blank look on my face probably conveyed this. But his follow-up statement didn’t help much either.
“I want to make spaetzle.”
The only thought in my mind was, “Well, OK, then go make some…” but I opted for the less recalcitrant position. “Sure chef, I’ll see what I can track down.”
 So much more than just a garden nuisance. But really, who’s the first guy who tried to eat this thing?… |
A few weeks later (when they became available) I had a bag of stinging nettles in house. The bag was full of serrated dark green leaves and everywhere I looked on the plants, there were tiny needles pointing right back at me. All of them standing strictly at attention in a pose that was screaming, “lawsuit!” in my ears. Still, I had been able to order these through a food purveyor, so I was guessing they were edible, but they sure didn’t look it.
When chef and Andrew arrived later that day, I showed them the bag - thinking that I was going to be laughed at for ordering something so obviously inedible. Instead they got right to work, taking the leaves off the stems (while wearing gloves of course) and then blanching them in boiling water to make them tender - including the pointy barbs.
“Here, give this a try,” Andrew offered me as he held out what could have easily been a piece of cooked spinach. It was nothing short of delicious. Andrew then went on to explain a lot of the different uses for them which was all really quite fascinating. But true to chef’s word, we worked them into a batch of spaetzle that night which was served with a pork chop special. Even with the description of a “stinging nettle spaetzle” accompanying the chops, this dish sold out in almost no time flat.
It’s funny how something so simple can turn into a really interesting learning experience. And I think I learned quite a bit. For example, I learned:
- Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are not only delicious, but they can be used in a bunch of ways and are quite nutritious as well.
- Just because something both looks and sounds dangerous, doesn’t mean it is inedible (but that is still the way to bet…)
- Trusting in the experience of others can lead to some amazing discoveries in the world of food.
- Customers are willing to be more adventurous than you may expect when ordering a special off the menu.
- “Stinging Nettle Spaetzle” is an awesome band name.
Stumble it!
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Boutros said,
April 22, 2008 at 8:23 am
So what happens if you touch them raw? Do you get a rash or just a poke?
Ed said,
April 22, 2008 at 9:23 am
I’d love to try that. Where in the area can we find this? Any recipe recommendations?
Eize said,
April 24, 2008 at 12:08 am
Wow.
Carly said,
April 27, 2008 at 9:42 pm
My boyfriend, who is from Greece, was just telling me about this plant today! His grandmother used to use it as a form of punishment, and all the kids were so afraid of it that they’d behave! Wearing garden gloves, she’d chase them around with it. His mother said the same thing was done when she was a child. The sting/itch last briefly, but apparently it is quite intense.
Chef Matt said,
April 28, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Boutros - it is sort of a poke that kinda leaves a bunch of little welts. Not quite a rash, but you remember it for a few hours afterwards - so I hear. I didn’t handle them myself since I didn’t know what I was doing with them, but they are not to be touched with just your bare hands.
Ed - Well we had them the once at the restaurant where I work, Rustico, and I hope we can get them again, but this is not going to be a regular menu item for us I can tell if only because they are kinda hard to come by. As for recipes, I would start out treating them just like spinach - wash and saute with garlic and so forth. Then try working them into pastas and other foods with a certain level of starchiness to work well with the wonderful bitter green flavor the nettles have. Just be sure that no matter how you use them, you cook them first. They will not work as an extra “lettuce” in a salad. That would be painful indeed.
Eize - Wow indeed.
Carly - Aside from the random acts of abuse/discipline your boyfriend endured, I’m sure he would not be as in to eating them as other people would be, huh?