Nettle Pakoras

By Mel Evans

If you have been following our posts you may have realised that we are big fans of Stinging Nettles! They are abundant, versatile and very, very easily recognisable. This makes them a great thing to forage for with children.

Of course the cloud to this silver lining is the sting! The Nettles have to be picked with a firm grasp or tough gloves to avoid the pain. Tradition has it that stings can be treated with a dock leaf and although this seems to work it is nothing more than a placebo. Hunting for Dock Leaves distracts the child (or adult) long enough to forget about the sting. Plantain leaves are more likely to actually relieve the pain.

You can treat Nettle stings with a Plantain poultice.

Once you have collected your Nettles they can be blanched in boiling water to remove the sting and then you are ready to get cooking! The recipe below calls for Chickpea flour, also known as Gram flour, which means it is gluten free.

We love cooking these on a campfire in the woods, but of course they work just as well in a conventional kitchen.

They are extra delicious served with Dandelion Jam. If you haven’t has a go at making this yet, you can find all the details here.