Delicious And Healthy Nettle Fritters

Spring time has arrived to the Northland and with Mother Nature´s perfect precision everything has turned green on the third week of May, just like every single year for the past 16 years. 

For us living here up north this is always a magical moment, just like when the snow arrives and covers the entire land around in the white blanket in the winter time. 

In this part of the world the seasons are so well defined, and there are deffinitely more than four of them, as the indigenous Sami people know and rightfully so claim there are actually eight seasons out here. 

It is exciting because after half a year of cold, darkness and pretty much many shades of white and gray, suddenly the green explodes all around. 

But the arrival of the spring and all that green sprouting is not beautiful for me just as a nature lover, it marks the beginning of the wonderful herbal season - season of foraging and gathering of plants for both food and medicine. 

And now  I´ve finally arrived to the topic of this post :)

When weeding my vegetable garden I pull out the young nettles

and dry some for the winter for the dogs, chickens and us, as well

as use some as food supplement for my dogs and to give the

chickens in one of their most favorite meals (I´ll share that one

some other time too).And then make a pesto or a soup, which are

both delicious and super healthy.

Nettles are one of the first edible plants that emerge. They are especially tasty and juicy and healthy this time around - packed with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, as well as help move the life force energy throughout our bodies, depleted of the said energy after the long winter. Perfect!

In the spring and throughout the first part of summer I make a lot of food with the nettles. 

A little spoiler alert - I am planning a downloadable Nettle booklet with recipes and remedies you can make with this powerful herb ;-)

Just from the top of my head, some of my most favorite nettle foods include nettle pesto, nettle smoothie with lemon and honey, creamy nettle soup and nettle fritters.

In case you haven´t tried nettles before and wonder about their taste, it is very similar to spinach or chard (mangold). I personally love the taste of nettles the best from these three. It is truly delicious.

So now, without a further due, here comes this super simple and easy recipe!

--- Spring Nettle Fritters Recipe ---

Ingredients:

A salad bowl of young spring nettles (stems and leaves)

2 free range eggs from happy hens

2 medium sized potatoes

1 cup (250ml) all purpose flour

1-2 cloves of garlic (depends on how much garlic you like)

Salt, Pepper

extra virgin olive oil for frying
------------

First, boil water and place the nettles in a colander or large strainer, then pour the boiling water over the nettles and let drip the water out and cool.

TIP: You can actually use a bowl to catch the nettle water and use it to add to your dog´s food for extra minerals and vitamins, to water your plants with is (once cooled) for added nutrients as fertilizer, or even to rinse your hair with for when you wash your hair.

Peel the potatoes and thinly grate.

Chop the nettles real small, mince the garlic, then mix in a large bowl with the eggs, flour, potatoes, salt and pepper. 

Work into a batter. It shouldn´t be to thick and floury and not too runny. If it feels too dry and solid, you can add a table spoon of the nettle water, but be really careful, because these are fritters so you will be frying them and not cooking them. You don´t want the batter to be too watery. If it feels too thin (watery), add some more flour. 

Let the olive oil get very hot in a frying pan (I use cast iron skillet), then turn down to medium high heat and spoon thin layers of the fritter batter onto it. I personally prefer smaller size fritters, but you can also make larger ones. 

Serve with cooked potatoes, with a small piece of melted butter and chopped fresh herbs on top, such as Creeping Charlie (aka Ground Ivy), chives (these two are my favorite) and a home made aioli or tzatziki. 

Enjoy and most of all - don´t forget to let me know how did you like them!