Sauteed Nettles with Smokey Sweet Walnuts
To offer myself some inspiration and to support local, I am doing a CSA this year. One of my goodies from week one is nettles. This one is new to me. But of course, I love my greens. So, after some back and forth this is my recipe. Sauteed Nettles with Smokey Sweet Walnuts. This particular recipe is good with any seasonal green and or alliums.
Now, chances are that I would have never picked up nettles on my own, so that alone is a score.
A Little Bit About Cooking with Nettles
For starters, there is a reason they are called stinging nettles. Either use gloves, or place in a colander and then pour some boiling water over them. That is all that is needed to be dealing with the stinging part of things. After that, this can be used like any other seasonal green. So Saag Alu, Saag tofu are all possibilities. And then something like this.
So, in short, nettles are just another sustainable and nutritious green for your green cooking arsenal. It is finding new things for your culinary repertoire that makes the process of joining a CSA or visiting a farmers’ market worthwhile.
The Story of Sauteed Nettles with Smoky Sweet Walnuts
What really makes my recipe interesting is the walnuts add on. I spend about 5 minutes, baking maple syrup and paprika coated walnuts. The result is something quite magical. You can make a large batch of these and sprinkle some red pepper flakes for a snack. I mean why should cashews have all the party fun. But, the rest is just sautéing the greens.
Make a Meal Out of this
I think that you could stir this into noodles. Top this with a crispy egg, like I have done here, and you will have a dish fit for kings.
An easy and interesting take on stinging nettles, this is a flavorful and vibrant recipe that can be adapted to work with all greens.
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- For the Walnuts
- ½ cup of walnuts
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon smoky paprika
- ½ teaspoon red cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- For the nettles
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 2 small white onions, thinly sliced (can be substituted with ramps, leeks, shallots or scallions)
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 cups of cleaned stinging nettle leaves (can be substituted with any green of your choice)
- ¼ cup of cooking wine, such as Shaoxing wine
- Salt if needed
Instructions
- Method of preparation
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small mixing bowl, toss the walnuts with the maple syrup and the smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
- Place on a sheet pan and bake for 3 to 4 minutes. The walnuts will turn golden and fragrant. Be careful as they burn easily.
- Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In a pan or skillet heat the olive oil until smoking. Add in the cumin seeds and wait until the seeds crackle. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat.
- Mix in the nettles and stir well to mix for about a minute.
- Add in the cooking wine and salt if needed and cook until all the cooking liquid is absorbed.
- Stir in the walnuts and enjoy.
Notes
This recipe can be adapted for any greens of your choice/
Haemi
Hello Rinku,
This recipe is very unique to me with the addition of walnuts. I have tried stir-fried spinach or greens many times but adding walnuts is new.
I will definitely try this recipe this week with spinach. Will it taste similar if I try the same recipe with spinach?
Keep sharing these beautiful recipes! Love them.
Haemi recently posted…Plant-Forward: What it Means and Why it Matters