Well, its not been a terrible week but a rather busy one. With two weeks to go until Easter everyone (teachers and students alike) are getting tired. What better way then to end the week with a spot of foraging in the evening sunshine. Crossing over the bridge from Bonhay Road onto the island by the Exwick playing fields with a bag and a pair of thick gardening gloves, my latest thing to find: Stinging Nettles.
Not surprisingly there were quite a few about thanks to the decent spring weather we've had of late and I quickly and easily filled half my carrier bag with the fresh top leaves and enjoyed the sunshine. The stinging nettle is a funny old plant. Its strange to think that not so long ago it was a staple of many people's diets and like spinach is very nutritious filled with vitamins A and C as well as iron, potassium and calcium. And yet, we turn our noses right up at this common food source right on our doorsteps in every park, field and rec.
It can be stewed like spinach as a green, made into tea and I believe in the medieval period it was used in pottage and brewing. What's not to like? I've known for a long while that you can eat nettles and have often made tea out of it in the past (very refreshing) and its very easy to get rid of the stinging side of this plant - you merely boil it in water.
Today, I decided to get creative and make my nettles into ravioli filling.
First I boiled my nettles. While they were simmering I made my own pasta dough and rolled it out.
Cutting the dough into circles I filled each one with a mixture of nettles, parmesan and feta cheese.
And voila, I made fresh ravioli which was really tasty.
Very simple. For a very similar recipe please see this one here:
Have a lovely weekend!
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