Prep & Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 200g nettle tips
- 1 stem fresh garlic or 2 cloves garlic
- 50g fresh mint or parsley
- ½ lemon
From the cupboard:
- ½ cup roasted pine nuts (can be replaced with roasted chickpeas or almonds)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- salt to taste
- 1⁄4 cup Parmigiano or other firm cheese (optional)
Method:
- In a pot of salted boiling water boil the fresh nettle for a minute or two.
- Strain well – remove as much water as possible from the nettle.
- Place the nettle into a food processor. Add chopped garlic, nuts, cheese, 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, herbs and whizz until blended.
- While blending add the olive oil gradually.
Nettle Salad: You can make fresh nettle salad using the same ingredients as for the pesto (add spring onions or red onions). Use rubber gloves while washing and removing the stems. Finely chop the nettle tips and massage them well with a bit of salt to remove the stinginess. Dress with olive oil and lemon.
Nettle Soup: Refer to our recipe from the 11th of April (Spinach, Pak Choi and Sorrel Noodle Soup) and replace all the greens with nettles.
Recipe by Pavlina. Image from moralfibres.co.uk