Stinging Nettle & Pheasant Back "Palak Paneer"

Despite all the hunting we do, Wade and I eat a fair number of vegetarian meals throughout the year. Sometimes, it’s because our wild game diet limits us to what’s in the freezer, and we didn’t pull anything out to thaw. But most of the time, it’s because we have a delicious seasonal ingredient that stands out on its own.

I had read for years about foraging for nettles, but they’ve been a recent introduction to our kitchen. I guess I just hadn’t been looking out for them too seriously, but recently, on a walk near the river searching for pheasant back mushrooms, we came across several large patches of stinging nettle. We were already loaded down with probably 20 pounds of pheasant backs, so we came back the next day, armed with gloves and scissors and a laundry bag, and got to work. Within about 15 minutes, we had almost filled the laundry bag, with minimal damage to our hands and arms.

We brought those nettles home, blanched them, and set about making one of our favorite vegetarian recipes- palak paneer. An Indian dish, this curry has been a staple in our kitchen for a while now. I break it out whenever I have either an abundance of spinach or a lack of time- this recipe comes together in less time than it takes to make a pot of rice.

Palak paneer is a bright, mild and creamy curry traditionally made with spinach (palak) leaves and paneer, an Indian cottage cheese. We seldom have paneer on hand, so we usually make it with tofu, but our recent foraging left us with a surplus of tender pheasant back mushrooms that we thought would be a good substitute. The pheasant back mushrooms, with their neutral flavor and slight toothsomeness, are a great substitute for the paneer, albeit less creamy. The nettles are bright green and tender, tasting just like spinach but maybe just a little brighter, fresher, and sweeter in flavor. So I guess you couldn’t call this recipe “palak paneer” anymore, given that it contains neither spinach nor cheese, but the idea stands.

Our laundry bag of nettle leaves, once removed from the stems and blanched, gave us almost 8 cups of greens to work with. They had a beautiful color and aroma. Fresh out of the blanching pot, and completely unseasoned, they were some of the best greens I’ve ever had, cultivated or wild.

And as for our pack full of pheasant backs? We trimmed them up according to quality, cutting each mushroom into pieces based on their tenderness. We cut off the softest, outer edges first to use fresh in this dish and a few others. The middle part, which isn’t quite leathery but isn’t too pleasant to chew on, we kept separate for a couple of experiments. And the toughest parts of the mushroom we sliced, dehydrated, and turned into a powder for soups and sauces. Pheasant backs have a mild flavor and aroma, which makes them a perfect addition to any dish where you might want an ingredient with some substance, but without a strong, earthy, mushroom flavor.

A few notes on the recipe-

I usually heavily salt my blanching water, but for the nettles, I opted to omit the salt so I could use the leftover liquid as a compost for my garden. If you’re not planning on using the nutrient-rich blanching water for something else, go ahead and salt it.

You’ll probably need to add water at several points in this recipe- the amount will vary from batch to batch. You can’t really over-do it, strictly speaking, but if you add too much, you’ll need to cook it down longer to get the right consistency, which means you might lose the bright green color of the nettles.

Please feel free to adjust the level of spice to your liking. I’ve dialed this recipe back a little, because although I love a heavily spiced dish, not everyone does. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. You will probably need to add a lot more salt than what you think you will need- the greens and yogurt just soak it up, and once it’s plated with rice or naan, you will wish you had added a little more.

Stinging Nettle & Pheasant Back “Palak Paneer”

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 cups nettle leaves, tightly packed

1 medium tomato, roughly diced

5 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger, peeled and grated

1 jalapeno, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp red pepper flake

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp whole coriander, crushed (or 1 tsp ground)

1 ½ tsp black mustard seed

1 tsp fenugreek, ground

3 tbsp neutral cooking oil

½ cup labneh or greek yogurt (full fat)

Salt, to taste

Method:

Blanch the nettles: bring a large pot of water to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, prepare an ice bath. Blanch nettles in boiling water for approximately 30 seconds, then remove to ice bath to cool. Swish them around in the cold water to evenly cool. Squeeze out excess water before using the nettles.

Prepare the gravy: place the nettles in a blender or food processor along with the tomato, garlic, jalapeno, onion, and ginger. Pulse until pureed, adding water as needed to help it along. 

Toast the spices: Add spices to a large, dry frying pan over medium heat. Allow to toast, stirring constantly, until aromatic- usually around a minute or so. Add the oil and then the gravy to the pan, stirring to incorporate the spices. You may want to add a little water at this point. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until heated through and the flavors have combined. Stir in the labneh or yogurt. Add salt, taste, and adjust seasonings.

In a separate pan, saute sliced pheasant back mushrooms in a tablespoon of oil until cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Add to the curry. Serve curry over basmati rice or with naan.