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Nettle Crisps
Crisps that are actually good for you – and they taste delicious too! This is a great way to get the kids to eat their greens: nettles are a superfood, packed with vitamins and minerals.
There are two methods of making these crisps, one slightly healthier than the other.
Makes : As many as you like
Prep : 3 minutes
Cook : 1 minute
- Nettle leaves (from plants that are not in flower), washed , drained and dried
- Oil for deep-frying, or oil spray for oven-cooking
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
TO DEEP-FRY
- If using a deep-fat fryer, preheat the oil to 180˚C. If you’re using a pan, choose a wide, deep one and do not fill it above a third of its depth with oil. Set over a high heat, and to test if it is ready for frying drop a leaf into the oil – if it floats, surrounded in bubbles, the oil is hot enough. Regulate the heat to stop the oil getting too hot.
- Drop small batches of the leaves into the hot oil and cook for about one minute: they will turn bright green and slightly translucent. If the leaves start to brown, you’ve left them in too long or your oil is too hot. Don’t overcrowd the pan. (For best results, add the leaves one by one, and to stop them curling up, put them into the pan underside-down.)
- When they’re ready, scoop out the leaves with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. They will crisp up as they cool. Scatter with salt and pepper, and dig in.
TO OVEN-COOK
- Preheat your oven to its hottest setting, around 220˚C.
- Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Arrange the nettle leaves in a single layer and lightly spray them with the oil. Turn the leaves over and spray the other side, then put the tray into the oven for 3-5 minutes, until the leaves are crisp, bright green and slightly translucent. Season with salt and pepper, and eat.
Credits
Recipe by Wild Food UK, photos by Otherwise for Wild Food UK
COMMENTS
I am Well up for the Nettle Crisps
and i love getting stung too, so double bonus.
trying em tomorrow.
Marcus! So do i! i love nettles!
Marcus… So do I. Weird. Making them now.
Can these be stored at all? I want to make some for the husband to take to work, but it would mean making them the day before…will that work or will they spoil?
Nettle crisps should be eaten straight away for crispness, if you could keep them dry somehow it might work.
I too like the tingling feeling once the initial ‘pain’ has gone.
Although I doubt that I will enjoy being “stung on my tongue”…
😋
How hot is a hot oven in this situation?
As hot as you can get your oven.
Lovely, I’ll use them as a tasty garnish. Cooked very quickly in the oven.
can someone help me i cant get it to work.
i have tried everythung
My favourite method is to hold an entire nettle over the flames of a barbeque or open fire for a few seconds until the leaves are slightly crispy, this destroys the stings, then drag the nettle through some seasoned butter and eat them like crisps straight from the stem.
Hi Phillip, what’s going wrong? The crucial thing is to have your oil/oven hot enough, and to let the freshly cooked leaves drain on kitchen paper for a minute or so, to cool and crisp up. Hope this helps!
I have had these before and there the best.