Pesto is a tried and true stinging nettle recipe. With a little oil, parmesan and a handful of nuts or seeds, tp turn a common edible weed into something delicious. As nettles are rich in health benefits, a little cheese and oil helps the medicine go down, so to speak.
Harvesting
People tend to exaggerate the sting when talking about picking stinging nettle. The stinger is actually a trichome filled with formic acid similar to a bee sting. But, when nettles are young, I often pick them without using gloves. As the nettles get older their sting will intensify.
Don't be afraid of them. Chances are you'll get stung when handling them, and it isn't that bad. Wood nettles are a different story, and I always wear gloves when handling them.
The nuts or seeds
I usually make some nettle pesto every year, but it's a little different than typical pesto. Toasted pine nuts are delicious, but expensive. I figure as long as I'm breaking tradition not using basil, I shouldn't have to be bound by other constraints either. So, I typically make nettle pesto with mild-flavored seeds.
Sunflower seeds are great, but pumpkinseeds are probably my favorite for nettle pesto as they contain a small amount of green. This helps to underline the earthy green color of nettles. Adding pumpkinseed oil brings it to another level, but it's optional, and you can use olive oil if you like.
Stop Blanching Nettles
Yes, you read that right. Typically, most people will bring a large pot of water a boil and blanch nettles, then refresh in ice water. It works ok, but if the nettles aren't cooked enough, your pesto will be stringy and tough.
If you love the flavor of nettles as much as I do, you must try making pesto from steamed nettles. As there's no flavor lost to boiling water, steamed nettles will have a stronger flavor than blanched nettles.
Common stinging nettles will have more of their natural aquatic flavor, while wood nettles will have a strong perfume that reminds me of apple blossoms. Both nettles will make a great pesto.
Storing
Like all of it's cousins, pesto made from nettle leaves will keep in the fridge for a month as long as it's covered with oil. But, I usually save some by freezing in ice cube trays. After the pesto is frozen into cubes, I remove it and place in a resealable vacuum bag. From there, you can remove the pesto as needed for cooking.
Using
As there aren't any aromatic herbs in it, the flavor of nettle pesto is much more green and vegetal. In the kitchen, you can use stinging nettle pesto anywhere you'd use typical pesto. You can also serve it as a dip or a spread on bread.
Think of it as half pesto, half vegetable. One of my favorite things to do with it is to spread a generous layer on top of a pizza crust. It's also good spread on sandwiches, and just eaten on toast or crackers.
Spooning a dollop onto soup is traditional too. Of course, you can also use it as a simple pasta sauce, tossed with your favorite noodles in a frying pan. It's particularly good with Fazzoletti: the Handkerchief Pasta.
More Nettle Recipes
I have a lot of great ways to use nettles on this site. Here's a few more I recommend you try, and a link to the archive with everything I've made over the years.
Stinging Nettle-Pumpkinseed Pesto
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Spatula
- 1 large pot
- 1 Steamer basket
Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh nettles You can also use nettle tops, but they will take longer to cook.
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus a few scrapes of zest
- ¼ cup light olive oil see note
- ¼ cup pumpkinseed oil see note
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 1-2 large cloves of garlic depending on your preference
- 2 generous tablespoons pumpkinseeds toasted
Instructions
- Grind the pumpkinseeds medium-fine in a spice grinder and reserve. Steam the nettles for 2-3 minutes until wilted and tender (taste them to check, older ones will take longer).
- Cool, press on a paper towel to remove water, and chop them fine. Crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife, chop coarsely and reserve. Mix the oils.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except the oils.
- Pulse to break the mixture up in the food processor. Add the oils in a steady, slow stream until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a mason jar, top with ¼ inch of oil and refrigerate. The pesto can also be frozen.
- Nettle pesto has a more vegetal flavor than ramp or basil pesto. Think of it as something you can use as a dip or spread in larger amounts than traditional pesto. Basil pesto is is more of a seasoning.
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