Thursday, June 16, 2011

Wild Things: Nettle Kraut

Gather nettles. A lot.  This recipe yielded one quart, and I had about 4 -6 cups of chopped nettle leaves.
Chop your nettles coarsely, and put into a large bowl with 1 tbsp salt.  Chop 1/2 cabbage head finely.  Add to the bowl of chopped nettles with another tbsp of salt.  Slice 1/2 red onion finely.  Add to the bowl.
Massage the nettles and cabbage and salt with your hands for 5-10 minutes, until they begin to release their juices.  If you are concerned about getting stung, you can beat the cabbage & nettles with a mallet, clean jar or other tool, but I used my hands, and didn't have any problems with getting stung.

Stuff into a jar, and press firmly until the juices flow over the top of the kraut.  Top with a grape leaf to keep it crunchy.  Cap firmly- after ensuring the liquid completely covers the kraut (if not, add brine (salt water) to cover.)  Set aside on a dish to catch any overflow, for a week, minimum.  Longer makes a more  sauer kraut
YUM!

2 comments:

Lisa Allen MH said...

This looks SO GOOD Darcey, I have to try it!! Thanks for sharing!

Livia Indica said...

You keep posting these nettle recipes and I just might have to try it someday. What does it actually tastes like?

"The mother of us all, the oldest of us all, Hard, splendid as rock, Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth"~ Rumi ~