Deliberately simple, this smoothie pairs fresh nettle with frozen red berries for a mild green drink that is easy to love. Blending for a good while is enough to completely neutralise the stinging hairs on the leaves. It is a minimalist base that you can enrich as much as you like with other greens or fruit, depending on the season and what you fancy that day.
Fresh nettle and red berry smoothie
Share this article
Ingredients
- 70 g young fresh nettles, roughly chopped
- 1 large banana
- 240 ml plant milk (almond or other)
- 170 g frozen red berries
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon honey, or a few drops of liquid stevia
- the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
Method
- Wearing gloves, rinse the nettles and chop them roughly.
- Put them in the blender with the banana, plant milk, vanilla, honey, lemon zest and juice.
- Blend for 1 to 2 minutes depending on the power of your machine: this long blending fully neutralises the sting.
- Add the frozen red berries, blend briefly and serve straight away.
Tip
Pick nettles in spring or from the regrowth at the end of summer, taking only the top 4 to 6 leaves, away from roads and sprayed fields. Keep your gloves on until blending: once they have been through the blender, they no longer sting at all.
The full range Plant-based oils and spices
11 products
FAQ: your questions about the nettle smoothie
Can you eat nettle raw?
Yes, provided you neutralise its stinging hairs, which are found on the leaves and stems. All you need to do is crush them, by rolling the leaf firmly, chopping it finely or blending it. In this smoothie, 1 to 2 minutes in the blender is enough: once blended, nettle no longer stings at all. Simply wear gloves for picking, rinsing and chopping.
Which part of the nettle is edible?
It is mainly the leaves that are eaten, especially the young shoots at the top of the stem, which are the most tender. The best time is spring, before flowering, as the leaves toughen afterwards. The stems are more fibrous, and the seeds can also be eaten, dried. Pick away from roads and sprayed crops.
How do you use fresh nettle?
It is used rather like spinach: raw in a smoothie, pesto or green juice once blended, or cooked in soup, in a quiche or pan-fried. Handle it with gloves to sort and rinse it. Being delicate, it keeps for one to two days in the fridge, wrapped in a slightly damp cloth.
How do you make a nettle salad?
Choose very young leaves, rinse them and spin them dry while keeping your gloves on. To stop them stinging, chop them finely or massage them for a few moments with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Then mix them with other young shoots and a few seeds for crunch.
Share this article
Related articles
