I was just curious if anyone has cooked with stinging nettle/bull nettle before,  this seems to be the season for them and I read a few interesting articles online as to the health benefits that they offer. So this weekend I ended up picking a grocery sack full and boiling them for about 20 seconds to remove the stinging effect.  The texture was very different mostly do to the little hairs the plant has but it did taste a lot like spinach.  Does anyone have any recipes for stinging nettles that would complament the odd texture? 

As stinging nettles have a very high iron content I buy them in a dried and powdered form and use on food as a seasoning.

I have spoken to a number of people who also use stinging nettle in a tea form.

My grandmother used to make a cream soup.  I would imagine it would be a lot like a cream of spinach soup with nettle replacing spinach. 

For those who have never handle fresh nettles use GLOVES!  Nettles have small neddle like hairs that when touched break and release formic which is similar to ant bites and burn your skin, causing a bad rash.  Once cooked though the chemical is finshed and is edible..simialr flavor to spinach with a more bitter complexity.

ohh it's way worse then ants its more like some very angry wasps.  My neighbors call it Wasp Grass.

hahah ya its definitely uncomfortable.. don't go to the bathroom after using them.. you will regret that, happened to an old co-worker..