Move over raspberry, there’s a new kid in town. These nettle brownies are fudgy, chunky and packed with the perfect summer zing to cut through some thoroughly deserved decadence.
We love these brownies as failsafe crowd-pleasers at picnics, parties and BBQ’s and the pretty leaf patterns on top will leave even the most sophisticated guests impressed. Just don’t forget the gloves when you’re out foraging!
Serves – 12
Foraged Ingredients
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- Around 20 nettle tops, as young and green as you can find, and without buds or flowers
Other Ingredients
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- A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 180g dark chocolate
- 250g butter
- A generous pinch of salt
- 100g milk chocolate
- 300g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 85g self-raising flour
- 35g cocoa powder
Method
- Forage your nettles, making sure to wear gloves. You’ll want around 20 nettle tops for this recipe, which means just the upper stem of 6-8 leaves. Rinse the tops in cool water to remove any nasties and set aside 2 stems for later.
- Blanch the remaining nettle tops for 1-2 minutes in a pot of boiling water to remove the sting and bitterness from the leaves.
- Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 34 x 20cm tin with greaseproof paper. While the oven heats up, take half your blanched nettles and place them in a hand blender or food processor. Pulse with a squeeze of lemon until it forms a rough paste.
- In a heatproof bowl, add the dark chocolate, butter and salt. Place over a pot of gently simmering water so the bottom of the bowl just rests on the water’s surface and stir until combined.
- Roughly chop the remaining blanched nettle tops and break the milk chocolate into chunks.
- In a new bowl, add the sugar and eggs. Beat until light and creamy. To this, add your slightly cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the flour and cocoa powder. Stir with a whisk to remove lumps and add your nettle paste.
- Pour half of the batter into the baking tray and scatter the milk chocolate chunks and remaining blanched nettles over the mixture. Add another layer of batter followed by the rest of the milk chocolate and finally press your reserved nettle leaves onto the top surface.
- And that’s it. Pop the brownies into the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Once done, the brownies should be crackled on top and slightly firm to the touch but still gooey. Allow to cool completely – we mean it! – before slicing to serve.
Expert’s Tip
We’ve adapted this recipe from the wonderfully talented Max Martin, a forager and wild food recipe developer.
He warns you should only pick nettles without flower buds or flowers because of a substance – cystoliths, microscopic rods of calcium carbonate – that they start producing to attract insects and bees. It might be great for the pollinators but a little demanding for human kidneys!