Nettle

Urtica dioica · sisnu · stinging nettle · bichhu buti

Free, everywhere, and the sting gone in sixty seconds.

What it is

Nettle is the common stinging weed of hedgerows and field edges. Boiling destroys the sting within a minute, after which the leaf collapses into a dark green that tastes deeper and more mineral than spinach, with a texture closer to a puree than a leaf. In the Nepali hills it is beaten with maize flour until it thickens into a paste that holds its shape on a spoon.

Where it comes from

Across the whole northern temperate world, including every British hedgerow. In Nepal it is hill food with a reputation for being what you eat when there is nothing else, That has not stopped it being good.

What it's called

Sisnu (Nepali) · nettle · stinging nettle · bichhu buti (Hindi). Botanically Urtica dioica.

In the kitchen

Boil hard for ten minutes until it has collapsed and gone dark, mash it against the side of the pan, then beat in maize flour slackened with cold water and keep beating for six to eight minutes. The dish is judged on body rather than flavour: it should thicken enough to hold a spoon upright for a second before it falls. Ghee goes in at the end.

What we know about the claims

High in iron, calcium and vitamin A, and one of the few foraged greens where the nutrition claims are solid. Pick only the top four leaves of young plants in spring, wearing gloves, and stop once the plants have flowered, as older nettle turns gritty and develops compounds best avoided. Avoid verges at dog height and anything beside a sprayed field.

Choosing and buying

Picking your own is the authentic route, not a compromise, since this is a foraged dish everywhere it is cooked. Frozen nettle is sold by Polish and Eastern European grocers and keeps indefinitely. Dried nettle leaf from any health food shop also works: use 40g, rehydrated in hot water for fifteen minutes. A mix of spinach and watercress is the fallback, milder and quicker to cook.