Despite their prickly reputation, stinging nettles are a tasty, nutrient-dense vegetable. In this article, you’ll find out how to make your own delicious stinging nettle quiche!
Every year around this time (late winter through early spring), we get really excited when we see our stinging nettle patch bounce to life. Why the heck would we be excited to see a stinging plant typically loathed by hikers and gardeners alike?
For starters, stinging nettle is a perennial vegetable that requires no tending (you actually have to fight to contain it). Secondly, it might just be the most nutrient-dense green on the planet. It also has a wonderful flavor reminiscent of cucumbers and spinach; its high protein content even contributes some umami notes when the leaves are cooked.
To be clear, there are precautions you’ll want to take when intentionally growing or harvesting stinging nettle, as we detail in our article, Why you should grow and use stinging nettle. Otherwise, you could end up with a yard full of nettle and very stingy hands.
Stinging nettle leaves are best used before the plant starts to produce flowers and seeds, so we pick all we can during the current ~6-8 week time window. We also wilt and freeze as much as we can for later use. (Our toddler loves stinging nettle & mushroom omelettes for lunch, so we’ve got to stock the freezer.)
Our new favorite stinging nettle recipe: stinging nettle quiche, which you’re about to find out how to make!
What can you make with stinging nettle?
Stinging nettle is a very versatile veggie. When in doubt, you can simply substitute wilted/cooked stinging nettle 1:1 for cooked spinach in any recipe. A couple of our favorite original stinging nettle recipes from years past:
With our ducks starting to lay eggs again, we wanted to come up with some good egg & stinging nettle recipes to have on hand. Thus, the creation of this stinging nettle quiche recipe.
In addition to eggs, it puts A LOT of stinging nettle to use. It’s also absolutely delicious.
After her first piece, The Tyrant had seconds… and considered having thirds. Our toddler also wolfed down his serving. Nuff said.
Stinging nettle quiche recipe tips
Here are important tips and considerations to get this recipe right on your first attempt:
1. Measurements
This recipe uses a pie pan that is 1 1/4″ deep x 9″ across (measuring from the inside). It holds exactly 4 cups of filling.
Before getting started, pour a measured amount of water into your pie pan to determine how much it holds. More than 4 cups? Consider scaling up the ingredients a bit more to suit.
A little trick we use when making new recipes like this stinging nettle quiche that require fairly precise quantities: mix the ingredients in a large measuring bowl so you get the quantities right BEFORE you pour them into the pie pan.
3 cups of quiche filling allows room for rise plus cheese on top in a pie pan that holds 4 cups.
In this case, you have to also consider a pie crust taking up some room, plus the rise of the quiche during baking, plus the addition of cheese on top. So, we had about 3 cups of quiche filling prior to pouring it into the crust.
2. Pie crust
Making a pie crust for this recipe using whole wheat pastry flour.
a. You don’t have to use a pie crust for this recipe. You can go crustless and still end up with a delicious meal that will be more akin to a frittata.
b. You can use any pie crust you want for this recipe (just keep in mind the measurements mentioned above). We like making our own whole wheat pie crust using pastry flour. If you need a whole wheat pie crust recipe, Lively Table has a good one. Or you can go into more uncharted territory by making a chestnut flour pie crust.
c. Pre-bake your pie crust for about 15-20 minutes until slightly browned on the edges BEFORE adding filling and baking. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a raw, soggy crust. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
If you do make your own pie crust, don’t forget to poke holes in it with a fork prior to baking or it will bubble up and break. Nope, no time for that either. (Aren’t you glad you’re reading these recipe notes so you don’t make any mistakes?)
3. Fine-dice and pre-cook onions
If you add raw onions to the quiche filling, you’ll end up with semi-raw, crunchy onions and a watery quiche. Instead:
- finely dice your onions (about 1/4″ or smaller pieces);
- pre-cook your diced onions in a skillet/pan with a bit of extra virgin olive oil until slightly translucent and browned (let them cool to room temperature before adding to quiche filling).
Pre-cooking your onions is an important step in this recipe.
You can then use that nice onion-seasoned pan to wilt your stinging nettles during the next step (see below).
4. How to process and wilt stinging nettle (and how much nettle you need)
After cutting the growth tips of stinging nettle plants, we recommend cutting off individual leaves for use in this recipe, e.g. don’t use the stems. You can either compost the stems or save them for veggie stock. If you use the stems, you’ll end up with a very fibrous quiche.
How much raw stinging nettle do you need? We picked about 8 densely packed cups of stinging nettle leaves (measuring ONLY the leaves after the stems were removed).
For precision, we weighed the 8 cups of stinging nettle leaves, which totaled a whopping 3.6 ounces. The 8 cups of raw leaves then cooked down to about 2 cups of wilted stinging nettle leaves, which is enough for two stinging nettle quiches. (You only need one cup of wilted leaves per quiche.)
Don’t boil your stinging nettle leaves or you’ll cook out the nutrients and weaken the flavor. If we find out you boiled your leaves, we’ll also unfriend you.
Instead, you can either steam the leaves OR wilt them in a pan (which is what we did for this recipe). To wilt your stinging nettle leaves, put a pan or cast iron skillet over medium low heat (3 on our stove), then add some extra virgin olive oil. For our 8 cups of nettle leaves, we used about 1 1/2 tablespoons of EV olive oil. Also, have a measuring cup with water in it next to the stove.
Add the leaves plus a shot of water, and stir, stir, stir. Add another shot of water and continue stirring. You’re NOT trying to brown the leaves (the water prevents scalding), you’re trying to wilt them. You also don’t want soggy leaves, you want them dry, so don’t add too much water. (We used a little under half a cup of water when wilting 8 cups of leaves using this method.)
Once the stinging nettle leaves are wilted/cooked down and there is no water in your pan, remove from heat and let them cool down close to room temperature before adding them to the quiche filling. Repeat: soggy stinging nettle leaves are forbidden: they’ll make a soggy quiche.
Pan-wilted stinging nettles. Notice: no water in the pan AND the nettle leaves are not charred. Like all greens, nettles cook down quite a bit. 8 cups of raw leaves yielded 2 cups of cooked/wilted nettle leaves.
If in doubt, wring out your nettle leaves to remove excess water by hand before adding them to your quiche filling. No, stinging nettles don’t sting once they’ve been cooked, so fear not.
5. Cook time
Every oven is a little different in how it bakes. We bake our stinging nettle quiche on 350°F for right at 1 hour. You want it to rise and be firm in the middle.
Going in the oven… Side note: put a baking sheet under your quiche to make it easier to pull out and just in case you have any boil over.
Arguably, we over-cook ours a bit. Regardless, you’ll want to start paying careful attention to how your quiche is baking after about 50 minutes. If your oven cooks hotter than ours or you prefer a slightly less well-done quiche than we do, you can take your quiche out early.
Recipe: Stinging nettle quiche
Now, with the above recipe tips in mind, let’s get cooking so you can enjoy a delicious piece (or three) of stinging nettle quiche for your next meal!
Print
Stinging nettle quiche
A delicious, savory quiche made with stinging nettles. You won't be able to eat just one piece!
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1
pie crust, pre-cooked for about 15-20 minutes until slightly browned
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1
cup
pre-wilted stinging nettle leaves (see wilting instructions in article)
4 cups fresh leaves cooks down to 1 cup wilted leaves
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4
large chicken or duck eggs
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1/2
white or yellow onion, fine-diced then pre-cooked until translucent and golden brown
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1
cup
fresh-grated white or yellow cheddar cheese
(half is for filling, half is for topping)
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1
cup
fresh-grated parmesan cheese
(half is for filling, half is for topping)
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1
cup
whole organic milk (ideally grass-fed)
(Most quiche recipes call for heavy cream, which you can use. We prefer whole milk.)
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1/4
tsp
sea salt (optional - cheese adds quite a bit of salt and there may also be salt in your pie crust)
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1/4
tsp
fresh-cracked black pepper
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1/4
tsp
ground nutmeg
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extra virgin olive oil as-needed for cooking onions and wilting nettle leaves, 2-3 tbsp
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Pre-cook onions and stinging nettle as per instructions in article, then let cool to close to room temp. Pre-cook pie crust for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
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Mix two cheeses together in bowl, then set aside 1 cup for topping. Whisk eggs then stir in all other ingredients to make your filling. Pour filling into pie crust, then top with 1 cup of mixed cheese that you set aside.
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Bake for about 1 hour or until quiche is golden brown on the surface and has risen all the way to the middle (the sides will rise first). Place pan on cooling rack and allow quiche to cool until warm (not hot) before cutting and serving. Garnish (optional) with seasonal flowers and a dash of ground nutmeg.
Stinging nettle quiche: love at first bite. You’ll be amazed at how good stinging nettle is as a cooked veggie!
If you’re able to eat only one piece of this stinging nettle quiche, we salute you for your temperance. Regardless, let us know how yours turns out and please consider giving this recipe a rating below!
KIGI,
Dive deeper into stinging nettle with these related articles:
26 Comments
Meg
February 8, 2024 at 12:05 pmLove your blog!! I have three Indian runner ducks, all females. Two of the three have just started laying eggs. We have no drakes. I have noticed an uptick in their amorous behavior with one another – in the kiddie pool (and even on dry land when I thought taking the pool was the way to get them to take it easy – pool has since been returned!) they engage in mating behavior with one another, plucking at each other’s head and neck feathers, “surfing” on each other, and so on. At first it was just humorous but they really like that joint area at the wing and while there hasn’t been any blood they get pretty ruffled up! Is there anything to truly be concerned about? Have you encountered this where the ducks have injured one another? I know drakes can do some damage but I was hoping the ladies would take it a little easier!
Aaron von Frank
February 9, 2024 at 11:36 amHi Meg! We’ve never had any health problems resulting from our duck girls mating each other. As long as they’re mixing it up and there’s not one girl who is always on the bottom, they should be fine… with a couple caveats:
1) Ideally they can mate in water deep enough that allows the bottom duck to fully float rather than mating on land or in a shallow pool where the extra weight of the top duck is endured by the legs/feet of the bottom duck. That’s fine every now and then, but eventually it’s more likely to lead to leg, ankle, and foot injuries.
2) They need to molt their feathers (including flight feathers) once per year for optimal feather health. If they don’t, their feathers can end up getting tattered and not providing optimal water proofing and/or insulation against various weather conditions. You can read more about duck molting here if you’re curious: https://www.tyrantfarms.com/duck-molting-what-when-and-why-it-happens/. By prioritizing optimal health rather than maximum egg production, you can encourage regular yearly molting cycles. More on how to accomplish that objective through the dietary regimen you provide your ducks here: https://www.tyrantfarms.com/what-to-feed-pet-or-backyard-ducks-to-maximize-their-health-and-longevity/
Hope this info helps and reach out any time we can be of help to you and your flock!
Courtney R.
July 31, 2023 at 9:03 pmGreetings! I am a new duckie mom and your website has been an incredible help for the last few months, so thank you very much for all of the information we needed to get the team from the bathtub to the back yard healthy and happy! We have a hen and a drake (raised together from puppies) about 7-8 months old. The hen, Averman, will chase the drake down in the yard, they will go through the whole head-bobbing, quack-blurping “dinner date”, she will run to their pool, flat-back, and as soon as poor Bombay gets his balance up there she’ll I guess change her mind and take off. I just wanted to see if this is normal behavior, if there is such a thing as normal duck mating behavior. They have a very loving relationship otherwise. Bomber is quite protective of Ave and they are inseparable. I know it’s not an ideal hen to drake ratio, but so far this is the only issue we’ve had. Re-homing Bombay and getting another hen is an option, but they’re very much pets and it would be devastating to have to do that. Any insight you can provide would be great.
Aaron von Frank
August 1, 2023 at 11:15 amHi Courtney and thanks for the kind words! Glad our duck articles have been helpful for you. 🙂
First, it doesn’t sound like there’s any reason to re-home Bombay, especially not if he and Averman are strongly bonded and getting along. They’re both young and she’s likely still figuring things out when it comes to the whole mating scene. Also, is it be possible that the mating is actually successful? It often doesn’t take very long for the act to be done.
Courtney R
August 1, 2023 at 10:36 pmThank you so much for the prompt response! Unless the whole situation takes less than a couple seconds I don’t think Bombay is getting lucky. Very glad to get an expert opinion on the team, and just want to be sure we’re doing what’s best for them. Just one more duckie romance-related question. I read (thanks again) that the act is safest when it takes places in their pool. However, Ave occasionally tries to seduce Bombay on the lawn. I work from home so we spend a LOT of time in the yard together. Should I interrupt them or just see how the dice fall? Again, thank you so much. I love what you and your wife are doing. My husband thinks I’m unhinged for having a “favorite duck blogger”, but it is what it is.
Aaron von Frank
August 3, 2023 at 7:07 amHa! We’re honored to be your favorite “duck bloggers.” The risk of ducks mating on the ground is primarily leg injuries to the female since she has to awkwardly support the additional weight of the drake on her back. Factors that increase the risk:
-if she’s smaller or he’s larger,
-if mating on the ground is a common occurrence,
-if she’s an older duck, malnourished, and/or calcium-depleted due to laying for a long time.
We typically break up the party when our ducks mate on the ground and encourage them to move to the pond instead. But how you handle your flock’s romantic endeavors is up to you.
Jill
May 9, 2023 at 10:56 amJust commenting to say that this was hysterically accurate. First time I saw my duck’s penis I thought it was a Barbie head that had gotten caught underneath him as he ran around the yard.
Aaron von Frank
May 9, 2023 at 11:08 amHaha! I wouldn’t have thought to compare a duck’s penis to a Barbie head, but that’s hilarious. 😛
Corbin
March 16, 2023 at 1:28 pmHi,
This website is great, It has successfully entertained and informed at the same time 😂.
I’ve been wondering, I have 7 ducks right now, only 2 females and 5 males because my 3 other females didn’t make it last year. But anyway, the males are so aggressive on my poor tiny mallard, (it’s slightly less bad with my rubber Duck because she’s bigger) but for about 6-8 months now my female mallard has always paired off with my Rouen drake, and it seems like he’s almost always trying to protect her/chase away the other males when they’re getting too aggressive with her, which is amazing, and now I’ve seen that each morning in the nest box, he’s also trying to help out there. Every once in awhile all the males will crown into the nestbox and shake up all the eggs, so my Rouen drake will even start to scoop up and egg or two with his bill. It’s all adorable but I have no idea what he’s doing, and usually the egg will just roll out onto the cold wet ground. Do you know what this could be? As much as I’d like to separate the males from females, they’ve All formed bonds and if I lock 2 away in the coop, the other 5 will still circle the coop waiting for them to come out.
Basically it looks like they’re a breeding pair, and if so would it be okay to have him inside a cage I’m building with my mallard once she goes broody? Any suggestions?
Aaron von Frank
March 16, 2023 at 2:17 pmGlad you’re finding our duck mating information helpful, Corbin! It sounds like you’ve got the duck equivalent of The Jerry Springer Show going on there – ha. As you probably know, your current ratio of male-to-female is going to be quite a challenge to maintain while keeping your two females healthy.
The behavior you’re describing with your drake is very interesting and unusual. Typically, male Mallards and Mallard-derived domestics have no interest in the nest, the eggs, or even the female once she’s gone broody. In the wild, the drake’s bright coloration/nuptial plumage also attracts predators, not just lady ducks, so they’re adapted to stay away in order to improve the likelihood of brood survival. (This instinct also carries over to domestic breeds.) So, it’s hard to say exactly what’s going in his mind or why he’s behaving this way regarding the eggs. Perhaps being locked in a coop with the nest and eggs has frazzled his instincts and duck brain.
As for keeping the pair in a cage together while your female broods, you could give it a try but if he’s like most drakes, he’s not going to enjoy his time in the cage and will want out. It may make you feel better to note that Mallards and domestics do not pair-bond for life, only seasonally, so no hearts will be broken should you separate them.
Our main concern with your situation is the ongoing health and wellbeing of your females given the number of drakes in your flock. As we detail in this article https://www.tyrantfarms.com/should-i-get-male-or-female-ducks-or-both/ the absolute minimum ratio you want is 3 females : 1 male. Not only will your drakes fight and injure each other, they’ll also end up over-mating and likely injuring your females at some point. Yes, we know this from experience not just from having read about it. 🙁
So try to do whatever you can to improve your sex ratios and/or keep your females protected from your drakes to avoid problems as you go forward. And if you hatch out a brood, you’re most likely to end up with a 50-50 male-female ratio which doesn’t do much to improve your sex ratios unless you re-home the males.
Hope this isn’t unexpected or disappointing news!
Debbie Fleischer
July 25, 2022 at 2:44 pmI will try that idea. She has access to a water trough to swim in. We also have a big backyard pond, but for some reason neither her or the drake will get in the pond. It’s very big, so I don’t know if they’re afraid. I’ll clean her house today and put in fresh bedding. She can free range with him too during the day. I make sure she had plenty of puddles to dig in.
Thanks again
Debbie Fleischer
July 24, 2022 at 6:57 pmHi Aaron, me again. My duck was still being broody. I cleaned all the pine bedding out of the duck house. Then I swept and hosed it clean. I’ve been chasing her out all day. She is not happy. Just checked, she is sitting on the bare floor. I chased her out again. I feel so mean. Do I just keep doing this every day? Should I put the bedding back in? I don’t know what else I can do.
Aaron von Frank
July 25, 2022 at 11:06 amIt’s hard, but don’t feel bad. What you’re doing is the faster approach to get her to stop being broody. Is there any way you can just lock or block her out of her duck house during the day? From a hygiene and cleaning/maintenance standpoint, it will probably be better for all parties to have some bedding in the house at night. You will want to continue to remove eggs daily. Giving some extra treats might help her (and you!) feel better about the process, too. And if she doesn’t currently have access to a pool, providing one could be an additional enticement/distraction to help expedite her transition away from broodiness.
Debbie Fleischer
July 14, 2022 at 2:56 pmThanks again. Definitely, don’t want more problems. I’ll just wait it out. She’s still being broody. I’ll try to get her off her nest. I don’t want to get bit. Mine aren’t tame llike yours. They’re not mean. Just don’t want to be handled. I wish they would. I love ducks. They are so cute the way they quack and waddle around. Love your site
Aaron von Frank
July 15, 2022 at 11:54 amDuck bites are more entertaining than painful! Regardless, best of luck on getting your duck to stop being broody. She’ll snap out of it soon without a nest of eggs to attend to.
Debbie Fleischer
July 13, 2022 at 5:44 pmThank you for your help. Should I try to bring baby ducks into her nest? Tractor supply has them right now. I read where you did that. It’s hot now, but I don’t know if the female will accept them or kill them. They could be out without danger of cold. I also have chickens. I could isolate the duck house with a fence.
Aaron von Frank
July 14, 2022 at 1:56 pmIf you’re planning to get ducklings anyway, that’s one way to do it – but you’d definitely want to keep some protective fine-mesh fencing up to keep them separated until you’re certain momma has accepted them or you could have a horror show on your hands. That said, introducing ducklings just for the sake of getting your duck to stop being broody is probably about the most difficult way to go about it. The reason we brought in additional ducklings for our broody momma duck is we needed more females (we sexed her hatchlings and didn’t have the numbers/ratios we wanted).
Debbie Fleischer
July 12, 2022 at 5:01 pmHi. This is unrelated, but I looked and can’t find the answer. My duck was sitting on arm egg for about 21 days or so. She was off her next and the was broken and empty. I threw it away. I checked the next and broke it up. She’s remade the nest and is sitting on it, even though there’s no eggs. .I do have a drake so it could have been fertile. How do I get her away from the nest. She’s still acting broody
Aaron von Frank
July 13, 2022 at 2:13 pmHi Debbie! Usually, a duck won’t go broody unless they have a clutch of eggs to sit on, but they can be unpredictable (especially young ducks). As such, the way to typically get a duck to STOP being broody is to remove the eggs from the nest and take away access to the chosen nesting spot with something like temporary fencing. After that, it typically takes a few days for their hormones to shift out of broody mode (ha). Since you don’t have any eggs to remove, just try to restrict your duck’s access to the chosen nesting spot if at all possible — and continue to break up any new nest and remove new eggs. Then be a bit patient as her hormones shift.
Linda
April 10, 2022 at 11:38 amI had two mallard ducks land in my pool. I’m not sure if they the same ducks every year but they come at the start of spring and stay a few months. But this year a second male came and the two males looked like they were fighting over the female. They all flew away but the next day two came back and then the other male came back and the fight was on and again they all flew away. Now for the last 2 days a lone male has landed in my pool. I could never tell the males apart so I not sure if this was the original male or the interloper. But I have not seen the female. And now a male spends his time swimming alone in my pool. I always wondered if the original couple came back every year because they could have the pool to themselves and there is food ( I feed the birds too), and it’s a safe space for them. But now there is only a lone male duck.
Aaron von Frank
April 11, 2022 at 11:23 amPure speculation on our part, but our guess is that it was the same FEMALE duck using your pool/yard as her spring breeding ground. However, since Mallards are only seasonally monogamous, it probably wasn’t the same male returning with her year after year. Perhaps the ruckus caused by the two males fighting this year made her rethink your pool area as an ideal breeding ground and she’s currently nesting elsewhere. Once a female goes broody, the drakes don’t stick around – their job is essentially done at that point, biologically speaking. Female wild Mallards can lay up to two broods a year, so maybe you’ll see her again this year – or if not, keep an eye out next year.
The drake in your pond might now think it’s a good place to find a mate, or if nothing else, a good place to swim and source food. Whether he is the man of the season, an interloper, or a newcomer is hard to say.
Jenny Young
October 19, 2021 at 11:33 pmRecently, while snuggling my drake, he was becoming happy with the snuggles and started wagging his bum. Then his neck elongated and his wings went out a bit. I believe my drake mated with my lap, no penis appeared, but some drippings from the back end. He seemed even more docile with me afterwards. lol. I’m assuming that his is ok and that it isn’t a behavior I need to stop. Providing he doesn’t get too aggressive with me. I only have two drakes no females in the mix. Although they do think my poor puppers might make for a good mate 😉
p.s. thanks for having such an awesome resource of information!
Aaron von Frank
October 20, 2021 at 7:34 amHi Jenny! Yes, it sounds like you were on the receiving end of a duck mating. Whether or not you want to continue in the relationship is entirely up to you. Ha! Drakes are not sexually discerning creatures so you could even get him a pool noodle and he’d likely fall in love. This isn’t to diminish how attractive you are, just to point out that other outlets for his affections can be found if needed or desired.
Naj
May 8, 2021 at 6:28 pmwonderful post, thank you!
Do you know of anything to do about a drake who is fixated on one female to the point of it being detrimental to her?
Our drake is over mating one of our girls. She is the smallest and the only blond (she’s a runty mixed welsh harlequin, the others are khaki cambells). It seems like it’s at least as much about dominance as anything else. He just goes after her constantly rarely mating with anyone else (4 females, 1 male in our gang) and the poor dear is going bald. We’ve tried separating her and her best friend (so she’d have company) hoping that some time apart would fix it, we’ve tried putting Peck-No-More on the back of her head, we’ve even tried the sticky mess that is pine tar.
We love all of our ducks, but if a solution isn’t found, then someone is going to need a new home; this idea just makes us sad.
I worry about keeping my drake separate because I know they are so intensely social and I know he would be miserable.
Aaron von Frank
May 9, 2021 at 10:08 amHi Naj! Yes, we’ve heard of this issue because we’ve had the same experience. We started keeping our drake in a separate small fenced enclosure (just a round area with stakes and temporary fencing with a bush that provides shade if he wants it) within the larger fenced back yard where our females spend the day. That way, he can still see the females, interact with them, etc without over-mating his favorite duck or causing social chaos within our flock. We give him a few minutes with the girls each morning when we let him out and a few minutes at night before we put them all up. That way, he’s able to satisfy his biological needs without causing head or back injuries during mating. We also have a separate coop for our drake so there’s no mating at night.
Debbie Fleischer
July 12, 2022 at 5:03 pmSorry about all the auto corrects. One egg was broken. No more in the nest