The Surgery - What can I cook with nettles?

Dear Surgery: I'd like to use stinging nettles on my menu. Do you have any good recipes?

The Surgery says:​ Despite their reputation as a "weed" with a rather nasty sting, people have eaten nettles for many centuries. Nutritionally, this perennial herb is an excellent source of calcium, iron, magnesium, natural histamine and a range of vitamins.

Nettles are very easy to find and often grow in abundance and, as they are free, they're great for your GP. Of course, the first rule of picking nettles is to wear rubber gloves unless you want to end up with a red, throbbing hand (the sting is destroyed when cooked).

The best nettles for cooking are the young shoots that grow in early spring (end of March, early April). As the plants grow, the leaves can get tough so pick only the small leaves at the top. The young shoots can be used in soups and stews in place of spinach.

There are plenty of delicious recipes for nettles, especially soups and risottos, but they also make good purées, sauces, tarts and soufflés. In Italy, nettles are used in omelettes and instead of spinach in ravioli fillings.

Antonio Carluccio Goes Wild (Headline, £25) features recipes for nettle tart and nettle gnocchi with dolcelatte sauce, and a very good recipe for nettle risotto appears in Annie Bell's Evergreen (Pan, £6.99).

Not surprisingly, king of the foragers Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a big fan of nettles. His website www.rivercottage.net features recipes and sound advice on making the most of seasonal, wild foods.

Recipe for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's nettle soup​

Our soup is an accurately and lovingly scaled-up version of this simple recipe, which you can easily make yourself at home. It is seasonal from February in a mild year, until sometime in May, when the nettles become straggly and tough. Pick just the top few leaves of fresh young nettles that have not yet gone to seed. And wash them very thoroughly, or the soup may be gritty.

25g/7/8oz butter

50g/1¾oz onions, chopped

125g/43/8oz celeriac, peeled and diced

250g/8¾oz leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced

750ml/1¼pt vegetable stock

250g/ 8¾oz nettle tops, thoroughly washed

125g/43/8oz cooked potatoes

250ml/5/12pt hot milk

50ml/1/12pt double cream

A pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the onion, leeks and celeriac, and sweat gently for about 10 minutes to soften the onions and leeks. Add half the vegetable stock, simmer for up to 10 minutes until the celeriac is quite tender. Add the nettle tops and the rest of the stock, with a good pinch of salt, bring back to the boil, and simmer for 6-8 minutes until the nettles are wilted and tender. Add the cooked potatoes, hot milk and double cream. Blend until fairly smooth, but still just a little textured, with very fine flecks of nettle leaf still visible. Eat at once, or chill to serve later. If reheating, heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally, but do not allow to reboil. The soup is also delicious served chilled. Just stir the soup gently in the pot, and pour into bowls. Add a dash of cream, crème fraîche or yoghurt, and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

Brunches boom in city pubs

Dear Surgery:​ Brunches seem to be growing in popularity in cafés and restaurants. Any advice on how I could introduce this to my pub menu?

The Surgery says:​ It's not unusual to find city-centre pubs - especially in London - offering some sort of breakfast and brunch menu and it is certainly a popular weekend option. Of course, the best thing about adding a brunch menu is the fact that brunch doesn't really have a time limit. It covers everything from mushrooms on toast to eggs benedict with hollandaise and can be served any time from breakfast to mid-afternoon. When people think of brunch, I think they're thinking of something simple, comforting and tasty. It doesn't have to be complicated. Take London restaurant Flaneur, for example, where brunch menu dishes have included anything from a toasted chocolate and hazelnut sandwich with walnut and honey bread to an enormous plate of black pudding, mushrooms, bacon, tomato and fried freerange eggs. The same restaurant also offers toasted Poilâne bread with Marmite and French toast with fruit compote. You'll find dozens of useful recipes and helpful hints for brunch menus on "breakfast evangelist" Paul Hartley's website www.breakfastandbrunch.com and also on the Farmhouse Breakfast website at www.hgca.com, which contains a number of excellent breakfast and brunch ideas.

Where can I source English wine to offer in my pub?

Dear Surgery:​ I source most of the produce used on my menu locally and would also like to offer some English wines. Have you any advice on where I can find out more information about what English wines to list and where I can source them?

The Surgery says:​ If you source the produce served on your menu locally, then why not some of your wines, too?

There are some fantastic English wines being produced now and they are increasingly finding their way on to pub wine lists.

Offering an English wine not only complements a locally-sourced food offering but also offers customers, particularly those who are just visiting the area a point of difference.

To find the location of your nearest vineyard, which English wines have been winning awards and how to source them, visit www.englishwineproducers.com, the website of the marketing association of English wine.

And if you are looking for a good opportunity to put English wines on your list or want an excuse to offer your customers a tasting, then put English Wine Week in your diary.

This national promotion of English wines runs from 27 May to 4 June this year. For more information on English Wine Week visit www.englishwineweek.co.uk

Offer a balance of meal choices to keep parents and children content

Dear Surgery:​ Children want chips and beans but parents are more conscious of what they eat - how can I satisfy both sets of customers?

The Surgery says:​ It's tempting to completely transform a children's menu to make room for healthier options. However, publicans will find the most effective route to success is by offering a balance of meal choices and giving customers sufficient information.

Children are known to "eat with their eyes" first, so a fun and colourful menu complete with images of delicious healthier options will encourage youngsters to make better choices for themselves. It is also an ideal opportunity to up-sell smaller portions of grownup dishes and will allow publicans to discreetly "hide" additional vegetables - for example, offering carrot and swede mash instead of potato mash, having additional vegetables in the bolognaise sauce and serving all main meals with the vegetable of the day.

Freebies are excellent incentives, so rewarding healthier choices with colourful badges, stickers and toys is sure to drive sales. For an all-inclusive package approach, meal deals with fruit portions and healthy drinks, such as smoothies and orange juices, will fit the bill.

Rather than removing popular favourites such as nuggets, burgers and beans, publicans can introduce meal combinations that look and taste the same, but are better on the inside. Changes such as replacing products with those that have been through a salt-reduction programme, introducing chunky chips that absorb less oil and serving meals unseasoned, are all discreet yet effective solutions towards a more balanced diet.

Publicans are reminded to ensure they maintain choice. By keeping favourites on the menu with improved nutritional quality and eye-catching healthy options, publicans will achieve both customer satisfaction and a boost of profits.

Advice from Ben Woodhouse, 3663 catering development controller​