Here’s a fun recipe to try if you have a good supply of stinging nettles available.

Stinging Nettle Pancakes

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 T melted butter
• 3-4 cups loosely packed stinging nettles

Whisk together the milk, eggs, and salt. Stir in the flour and then the melted butter. Steam the nettles for 4-5 minutes in boiling water. Remove from pot and reserve the cooking water. Run the nettles under cold water until cool enough to handle, then drain, squeeze out the excess water, and chop. Add the chopped nettles to the batter.

These can be cooked like regular pancakes on a griddle, or cook like crepes, one at a time in a small frying pan.  Serve with butter, jam, applesauce, or anything else you like, and mugs of nettle tea (the cooking water you reserved).

If you still have some nettles leftover after making these pancakes, check out more ideas for cooking with nettles here and here. Or, make more pancakes!

Local Analysis of last night’s pancakes

Local: stinging nettles (picked near my house), eggs, milk, and butter (from local farms via co-op)

Non-local: flour, salt