Now’s the time to gather treasures from the hedgerows. And then head home and into the kitchen to make this nettle soda bread.
Nettle Soda Bread
Good handful of young nettle leaves and/or wild garlic
½ pint buttermilk
6oz self raising flour (wholemeal or brown)
3oz plain flour
3oz seed & grain bread flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Gather your nettle tips (with gloves on) before they flower. Strip off the stems until you have enough for one large handful of leaves.
Heat oven to 200C/Fan 180/400F
In a blender or large jug, add leaves and buttermilk. Blend until smooth.
Put flour, salt and soda into a mixing bowl. Form a well in the middle and pour in the nettle buttermilk. Quickly mix together with a fork until a soft dough is formed.
Turn out mixture onto a floured surface, lightly need for 2 minutes then form into a round shape.
Put on a floured baking tray. Flatten the top of the dough and score the top in a cross.
Cook for 30 minutes until the dough sounds hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
N.B. You can substitute nettles for ramsons or crow garlic. For a seed top, before baking rub a little buttermilk over the top and add some sedge seeds (found in autumn) or sunflower seeds also work nicely.
In this month’s Blossom issue, we have a beautiful feature we think you’ll love by Lia Leendertz, in which she looks at cooking and enjoying some of the season’s bounty. Nature’s Table is the first in a new series. Do tell us what you think! This soda bread recipe with photography by Kirstie Young, was first published in our March 2016 issue but it tastes just as good (if not better) four years on.
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