foraging nettles

Hedge Nettle Flatbread with Garlic Scapes

In the grove where our creek meets the river grows an abundance of Hedge Nettles. Tall and erect with saw-toothed leaves, long, slender flowers foster nectar for bees, caterpillars, and hummingbirds, and make a fine addition to our own tables.

Foraging Hedge Nettles - a beginners guide with foraged nettle recipe

One of many members of the nettle family, Hedge Nettles lack the voracious sting of their sister plant, the stinging nettle. Bristly hairs cover alternating leaves up to thin, tube-shaped flowers. Standing up to 5 feet tall, flower color ranges from white to purple. Wet, nutrient-rich soils along streams, riverbanks, thickets, open forests, disturbed areas and hedges foster populations.

Also known as “Hedge Dead Nettle,” “Marsh Hedge Nettle,” and mistakenly referred to as “Woundwort,”  documented accounts show medicinal and culinary use across the globe.

One such account refers to the plant as “Husbandman’s Woundwort" for its ability to heal a countryman's severe cut in seven days. Another speaks of  “a deep and grievous wound in the breast with a dagger, and two others in the abdomen" healing in 21 days when mixed with hog’s grease.

Early settlers of the United States chose Hedge Nettle to remedy hysteria and nausea. Native peoples utilized the plant to treat colic. Locally, the Green River and Puyallup peoples cured boils, while the Quileute applied for rheumatism. Fishermen of the Nuu-chah-nulth even wiped their hands with leaves before handling gear.

Aside from medicinal use, nettles serve many practical purposes. Burial sites from the Bronze Age show woven nettle fiber in sailcloth, fishing nets, paper and clothing fabric. Traditional practices, still popular today, include nettle tea, juice, ale and use as a preservative for cheese.

Botanical Illustration of Hedge Nettle 1800s.

Botanical Illustration of Hedge Nettle 1800s.

Though stinging nettles are famous for their rich and mildly earthy flavor, Hedge Nettles are rarely recognized, despite similar qualities. In countries where foraging is still practiced, (Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Iran), green soups, omelets, and purées dot tables in spring. Though they release an unpleasant smell upon boiling, a quick drop in the pot softens and removes the (slightly) bothersome hairs. My two favorite ways to enjoy Hedge Nettles are folded into pasta- the green noodles coated in thick Alfredo topped with crispy prosciutto- creamy milkfat, grassy pasta, and crunchy pork fat- and scattered across a salty, buttery garlic-scented flatbread.  

Both are relatively easy, but the flatbread calls for little more than a few minutes and an appetite. No boil is required, since the greens crisp up in the oven, and, should you desire, you can skip the dough making altogether and pick up a ball of pizza dough on your way home. Making the dough by hand requires some planning to accommodate rising times. I find it well worth the effort to freeze a few balls that I can pull out and thaw for a Squash Blossom Pizza or grilled flatbread when the mood strikes. 

This is a recipe I make in the dog days of summer. When the light is long and hot and we’re deep in the thick of it. Other greens have bittered and dried up in the sun, and berries are about to burst. The cool river breeze gently tossing the tall plants and pretty purple flowers calls me down.

Foraging recipe for Nettle Flatbread

 

Hedge Nettle Flatbread with Garlic Scapes

Ingredients:

Dough

0.8 grams (scant 1/4 teaspoon) instant dried yeast 

700 grams (3 cups) water, 90-95 degrees F, divided 

1000 grams (7 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour

20 grams (1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon) fine sea salt 

 

Topping

A couple handfuls of Hedge Nettles, washed and leaves and flowers plucked

4 garlic scapes (or 1 clove garlic)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

A couple tablespoons of Salted Butter (Kerrygold brand recommended), melted

 

To make the dough: 

1. Combine the yeast and 3 tablespoons of the water in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the remaining water with the flour in a large bowl and mix by hand until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm, draft-free area for 30 minutes. 

2. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough. Gently stir the yeast mixture with a clean finger then pour over the dough. Use a small piece of the dough to wipe the remaining yeast goop from its bowl and add back into the dough mixture. 

3. Wet your hands, reach underneath the dough, and grab about 1/4 of the dough mass. Gently stretch and pull the section over the rest of the dough, onto the opposite underside. Repeat 3 or more times with the remaining dough until the salt and yeast are incorporated. 

4. Use your fingers to pinch the ingredients into the dough, then fold it over onto itself, repeating the process to fully integrate the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. 

5. Wet your hands, reach underneath, and grab about 1/4 of the dough, stretch and pull the section across the remaining dough and tuck underneath. Repeat. Lightly brush dough with olive oil. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise about 12 hours (dough will be 2 to 3 times its original size). 

5. Place the dough on pastry board or floured surface, coat with flour and use a dough scraper to divide into 5 equal pieces. Repeat the folding process above with each ball of dough. Lightly brush with olive oil, cover and refrigerate 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before baking. 

To assemble: 

1. When the dough is ready and at room temperature, place a baking stone (if you have one), in your oven and heat to 450 degrees F. On a lightly floured piece of parchment set over a cookie sheet, roll the dough into a rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Using a cookie sheet here as opposed to a baking sheet is important if using a baking stone. The stone will be firey hot when the oven is heated and you'll need to be able to slide the dough onto it running into anything.

2. Meanwhile, prep the toppings. Chiffonade the nettle leaves by stacking on top of each other and tightly rolling like a cigar. Pinching the roll in one hand, thinly slice the roll into small ribbons. Mince the garlic scapes. 

3. When the oven is ready and the dough is rolled, brush the entire surface of the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle a couple pinches of salt over top and follow with a few cracks of fresh pepper. Evenly scatter the chiffonaded nettle leaves, flowers, and minced garlic scapes. Very carefully open the oven door and slide the dough onto the stone. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. 

4. Remove from the oven and brush with the melted butter. Let cool about 5 minutes, slice into squares with a pizza cutter and serve. 

Spring Foraging in the PNW

We just rolled back into town after a (long overdue) vacation, including skiing and climbing throughout the North Cascades and the Methow. Having recently been discharged from physical therapy for a shoulder repair surgery with a strict recovery lasting 5 1/2 months, I was more than ready to move in the mountains again, and this trip centered around that (I'll be sharing more on the places we went and wildflowers we saw over on my Instagram if you're curious). 

The exceptionally warm winter this year coupled with the first signs of wildflowers reminded me that summer is coming on quick, and I wanted to share Spring's wild bounty with you before the season shifts and a host of new plants push their way to the surface.

 
What to Forage
 

Spring brings with it many of the most well-known plants to forage- tender greens, fiddlehead ferns, dandelions and the ever-popular stinging nettle. Many more varieties abound, and many of these plants have edible parts beyond common knowledge (including shoots, flowers, and roots). Recently I spoke with Hilary Dahl on the Seattle Urban Farm Company podcast Encyclopedia Botanica about cooking from your garden and Spring crops. I went into more detail on the many edible parts of these plants at their various stages, and the versatility and expanded harvest we can get from remembering this (listen here for the full episode). The same can be said of many wild varieties. Young shoots arrive prior to their fruit, expanding the length of harvest and, often offer a subtler version of their (sometimes intense) final product. Flowers can be found where birds are quick to grab berries, and experiencing a plant at its various stages builds an understanding of its life cycle. Various Native American tribes recognized this expanded life cycle and utilized it heavily.

Below I've pulled out a few of my favorites, along with notes on flavors and culinary uses. Click on the plant name to pull up expanded images and feel free to leave a comment with any questions. 

 
Tips for foraging
 

Salmon Berry Shoots & Flowers

Besides the sherbet-hued berry, both the shoots and flowers of the salmonberry plant are edible and quite pleasant to eat. Simply pinch the young shoots where they meet the vine (careful of baby thorns), making sure to leave no less than 40% behind to allow the plant to regenerate. Delicate magenta flowers can be eaten whole and are best pinched along with their leaves to preserve the fragile petals. I used both the shoots and the flowers in a salad recipe in my recent Copper River Salmon & Wild Watercress post, along with more photos of the plant. This is how I most commonly enjoy them, and, being so delicate, I don't really like to cook them myself, though a stir-fry wouldn't hurt, nor would whizzing them into a pesto. Mostly though, I find them beautiful, and I love for the food I eat to resemble itself, so tossing into a pile of spring greens, dressing in a fresh herb vinaigrette and shaving some pecorino over top does it for me. 

*I read in Pacific Northwest Foraging the common assumption that Salmonberries are so named for their fish-like hue may not be the true origin. The use of the shoots to cut the oily flavor of salmon by Pacific Northwest Natives lends another theory. 

 
Gathering stinging nettles and other things to cook
 

Stinging Nettles

Perhaps the most popular and well-known plant on the list, stinging nettles are familiar to the forager and bare-footed kid alike. Many childhoods are painted with memories of brazenly blazing through thickets, only to find oneself covered in itchy, stinging welts moments later (one of the beauties of not knowing any better is the balls it gives us). This is easily avoided with a pair of garden gloves and a quick boil or blanch before eating. Nettles are extremely versatile and wonderfully delicious. A specialty when restaurants can get their hands on them, they can be enjoyed simply sautéed in a pan with olive oil and sherry and dusted with salt and pepper, woven into a frittata or quiche with asparagus, or folded into homemade pasta.

*An interesting side note, stinging nettles are just one of numerous varieties of the nettle family which can be foraged. 

Foraging for Siberian Miner's Lettuce
Tips for Foraging in the Pacific Northwest

Siberian Miners Lettuce

Siberian Miner's Lettuce is a great wild green to have in your back pocket. It grows en masse and is easily found in the wet, shaded soils of the Pacific Northwest. Different from true Miner's Lettuce, Siberian Miner's Lettuce can be somewhat confusing due to its variation in appearance. Some have wider, squatter leaves that grow lower to the ground with a slightly more "Kelly-Green" appearance and small white flowers, others have stems that reach elegantly up from the ground to support similar white flowers. Light and subtle in flavor, it can easily be worked into many dishes, including salads, scrambles, pestos and as a bed for chicken or fish. I've had it as a garnish over halibut and draped over a piece of foie gras. Use anywhere you would use spinach or arugula and consider subbing in place of endive and butter lettuce as well. 

 
What to Forage in Spring Blog Post by Honest Magazine
 

False Lily of the Valley

Not to be confused with true Lily of The Valley, False Lily of The Valley is an edible tender green growing en mass in wet, shady soils. Often confused with wild ginger, the heart-shaped leaves make wonderful bases for salads, are lovely in scrambles, and go just about anywhere spinach or arugula would go (pestos, pizzas, stir fry). They also pair exceptionally well with seafood. Gentle in flavor and texture, I often gather these to balance and mellow out the more domineering flavors of other foraged plants. Since they grow in large quantities, they are dependable when I'm looking to gather some bulk. Later on in summer, strings of small, translucent red berries resembling bog cranberries develop. If left undisturbed the berries will hang onto the plant for months, changing opacity and flavor with time. The seeds are large and I always spit them as I nibble to spread the plant.

 
Foraging for Horsetail
 

Horsetail

Horsetail is a funny looking plant. Understandably, this turns many people off. Oddly enough the first known trees were closely related species of the horsetail, over 100 feet tall! There are two common varieties of Horsetail, often growing side-by-side near creeks or in marshy areas. Giant horsetail, with it's sturdier stem and stripy-pattern, Field Horsetail- a thinner, more delicate version lacking stripes. I find the thin, needle-like leaves quite dialed back and unobtrusive, and enjoy them mixed into a stir fry or sautéed and served with seafood (scallops would be an excellent pairing). Again, they are extremely versatile and I would incorporate them into a baked egg dish, a lively green salad with dried fruit and nuts, or a snappy ceviche in the summer. 

 
Wild Chocolate Mint growing in a stream.

Wild Chocolate Mint growing in a stream.

 

Mint

Many varieties of mint abound across all sorts of environments. Both wild and invasive, it heartily boasts it's way to the front of the pack, choking out neighboring plants. Varieties such as peppermint, lemon balm and chocolate spring to life, calling for iced teas, Moroccan dishes, and desserts. The variety and abundance of mint means plenty of room for experimentation in the kitchen. I love to muddle some peppermint into a virgin Blackberry Mojito (a recipe from the Forage issue a few years back), and keep a pitcher of Lemon-Balm iced tea in my fridge in the dog days of summer. Chocolate mint is a fun flavor and inspires interesting combinations (Chocolate Mint Vanilla Ice Cream with Rhubarb Compote, Double-Chocolate Minted Fudge Cake). It's an easy one to spot and to apply. Just watch out for your compost if you don't want to turn your yard into a mint factory! 

There are many more varieties ready for harvest in the spring months (information on foraging spring watercress here). I encourage you to spend some time, foraging book in hand, strolling around without agenda and see what you come up with. 

Cheers, 

Shannon