I’ve read that stinging nettles make an awesome tea and have had dandelion greens in salads in the past. But today I wanted to try the two together as cooked greens. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon your point of view, my journey took me no farther than our garden.
Gathering the stinging nettles was remarkably easy as their stems are hollow and break off easily. Gloves are recommended for obvious reasons, and the pair I wore made the task painless. I ended up with about 30 six to eight inch sprigs.
Finding dandelion greens always proves to be somewhat tricky for me. The most desirable dandelion greens are those that are young and have not yet flowered. The problem is that we have an abundant supply of chicory here as well and the first chicory shoots and leaves of the season look an awful lot like dandelion to me. Chicory leaves are edible as well so it would not be a big deal to end up with some in the basket. Yet for this concoction I preferred to make it with dandelion only.
While gathering my stinging nettles and dandelions I noticed the burdock shoots had shot up over the weekend. After inspecting a few clumps I decided to go ahead and harvest some leaf stalks. Most were only three to six inches long and I was concerned about the difficulty that I would have trying to peel something so small. Throwing caution to the wind I quickly collected a couple dozen stalks.
Back in the kitchen I decided to hold on the stinging nettle and dandelion prep work until dinnertime. Instead I focused my attention on the burdock stalks. I thought it would be fun to cook some up for lunch if I could somehow peel off the outer layer. As it turns out not only were they difficult to peel but cleaning them also proved to be a chore. For whatever reason I stuck with the task until I had about two cups of clean, peeled burdock stalks.
I decided to sauté the stalks in butter and a little bit of water. I also added onion and garlic powder, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I peered into the pan skeptically as the burdock sizzled. I wondered how such a frustrating, fast-growing, fibrous, downright nasty weed could possibly taste good?
As it turns out, burdock stalk was a big hit in our home. While our oldest daughter, Katherine, was unavailable for the taste test, the rest of the clan found it tasty and wanted more in the future. Who woulda’ thunk? To me the best way to try to describe it would be as a cross between swiss chard and asparagus. Shockingly good would be the next best way to describe its taste.
For dinner I decided to mix my “weed” greens with pasta. I cut off the stinging nettle leaves from the stems and placed them in a colander. I then tossed the dandelion greens in as well and washed thoroughly. I chose to steam rather than boil the leaves. I reasoned that they would soon be ending up in hot butter and pasta and I did not want to overcook them in the process. What’s more, I hate boiling anything and leaving behind so many good vitamins and nutrients in the water.
I chose to use penne rigate as the pasta. It is one of my all-time favorite pastas. While the penne cooked I steamed the greens for about two minutes and set them aside. I reserved about half a cup of pasta water and then drained the penne. Placing the pan back on the burner, I put in a stick of butter and added chopped roasted garlic. I then added half of the pasta water and put in about a teaspoon of freshly ground lemon pepper, and a tablespoon (or so) each of onion powder, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. I then stirred in the greens.
After they had time to blend together I added a half-cup of chopped chives and the pasta. While everything cooked together I added the remainder of the pasta water.
The result was not quite as enthusiastically received as the burdock, but was also a hit. I preferred the pasta dish over the burdock, but I seemed to be in the minority. Regardless, it was very strange to be eating something that until now represented burning pain. I grinned as I watched the rest of the family gingerly taking their first couple of bites, anticipating a soon-following stinging sensation. But it never happened.
In reality cooked stinging nettles taste very much like spinach and the texture is almost identical. Nutritionally, I discovered that it has a higher level of protein than any cultivated vegetable. It’s also reported to be full of anti-oxidants and vitamins, and has even been used in the treatment of respiratory ailments.
When it’s all said and done however, I just had a really good time today eating weeds.
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