Nettle (thats right!) Burgers
10 cups fresh young spring nettles (picked from the woods, if possible)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup marinated black olives
3 tablespoons whisked flaxseed oil (or other binding agent)
fresh sage, chopped, to taste (optional, but interesting)
1/2 onion, chopped
oil, as needed
1. Boil the nettles in a small amount of water (just have 2 or 3" in the pot and make sure to have a lid on) for about 10 minutes until tender. Don't throw the liquid away; it makes a very effective detox tea. Squeeze excess water out of the nettles and roughly chop them.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Form patties of the size you like; small appetizer size or actual burger size.
3. In all honesty, these taste best deep or shallow-fried. Heat oil in pan, and fry on each side until golden and crispy.
4. For the more health-conscious, you could just use a tiny bit of oil and carefully fry/turn them, or bake them.
I hope you like this recipe. It's an adaptation of a protest-site special from a crazy Auzzie with wild hair. I loved these things, and hope others can get joy from the recipe as well.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Well, I had them with Diner Home Fries from Vcon and some tomatoes. THey were awesome. Awesome.
I was rather sceptical at irst, but then when I tried the mass pre-frying.. I understood immediately it was a definite keeper. Thanks for the recipe.
i made this again last night. first time, I fried them in a pan, and they were really yummy - but hardly enough for two hungry people. So yesterday, i picked a big bucket full of nettles (about 8 liters), and made 17 big burgers. I abked them in the oven this time, and they came out crisp and fine. ( I oiled the bakingtray first) But I liked them even better fried in apan. I meant to freeze the leftovers, but me and my bf ate them all yesterday... except for three that we had for lunch today. Oh, and i forgot the flax seed oil, but they stuck together fine anyway. Rather than chopping things, I put it all in a food processor.
I wondered what would be the best side dishes with this? I had them with a tomato salad, and that was very good, and also iceberg lettuce and baked potatoes.
Any suggestions?
sounds like a fun recipe, but I have no idea what a nettle is. I'm guessing it doesn't grow in my region (Southern California) unless I'm just clueless. ???
oh cool, so it's not been lost at all. When I submitted it, I got an error and couln't go back, so I just left it assuming that it was gone for good. Yay, nettle burgers for all.
Serioulsy, give them a go, the nettles should be coming out soon!