#157: Nettles: A Gift of Spring

A recipe for Spring Clean Out the Fridge Casserole.

Stinging nettles,(Urtica dioica), oh, how I love them. Although, I do not love the sting one gets if skin touches the hairy leaves when harvesting or before they are cooked. From personal experience, I can definitely confirm that there is a reason “stinging” is part of their name. Over years of spring foraging for this plant that has been used for centuries by herbalists, I have learned what is required to help avoid that inconvenient sting.¹

• Long sleeves and pants✔️

• Gloves ✔️

• Scissors or clippers ✔️

• A big paper bag ✔️

I was overjoyed when presented with a big bag of fresh just picked young nettles for my birthday last week.

Photo by Paul Morley on Unsplash

How to use nettles?

In Art of the Pie, I included a recipe for Sausage and Nettle Pie. With this batch I decided to make a version of it sans crust…basically turning it into a casserole of sorts. I had no Italian sausage on hand and was just about to head to the store to buy some when I remembered the package of firm tofu I had bought a few days before. I opened the fridge door and wondered…Hmmmm…could I make this with tofu? Heck why not! Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? So, I gave it a try and you know what? It was great!

Here’s the recipe I came up with plus lots of pics of the process, too.

SPRING CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE CASSEROLE WITH NETTLES & TOFU