This is a basic pesto recipe with nettles subbing in for basil. You can use basil in its place, or parsley or some other nice green thing. You can also use different nuts; walnuts make a good pesto with nettles. I prefer Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but any good hard cheese will do. Since you've blanched the nettles, they will not oxidize and turn brown easily. So you can store this pesto in the fridge for up to a week, maybe more.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT5M
Total time: PT20M
Rating
4.89 stars (9 reviews)
Keywords
nettles, pesto
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, (roughly chopped)
2 heaping tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated cheese ((any hard cheese will do))
1/2 to 2/3 cup blanched, (chopped nettles)
Salt
Olive oil ((use the good stuff))
Categories
Condiment
Cuisine
Italian
Steps
Pesto is best made with a mortar and pestle, thus the name, which means "pound." You can make this in a food processor, but it will not be the same. First add the toasted pine nuts and crush lightly -- as they are roundish, they will jump out of your mortar if you get too vigorous. If you are using a processor, pulse a couple times.
Add the garlic to the mortar, then pound it all enough so that the pieces don't fly around. Add the salt, cheese and the nettles and commence pounding. Mash everything together, stirring with the pestle and mashing well so it is all fairly uniform. With a food processor, run the machine so everything combines, but isn't a smooth paste. You want it with some texture.
Start adding olive oil. How much? Depends on how you are using your pesto. If you are making a spread, maybe 2 tablespoons. If a pasta sauce, double that or more. Either way, you add 1 tablespoon at a time, pounding and stirring to incorporate it. If you are using the processor, drizzle it in a little at a time. Serve as a spread on bread, as an additive to a minestrone (like this one), as a pasta sauce or as a dollop on fish or poultry.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 96 kcal
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Protein: 5 g
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 18 mg
Sodium: 107 mg
Sugar: 1 g
Reviews
Crystal R on 2023-05-16 (5 stars): Fantastic! I like to sun out pistachios for the pine nuts too, for a flavor flip. I want to eat this with a spoon!!
Michele Anne on 2023-04-23 (5 stars): I doubled this recipe as that's the amount of nettles I harvested. I threw in a little more parmesan and walnuts than called for but other than that, I followed the recipe as is, using a blender. It came out excellent and thanks for publishing this recipe and how to neutralize the nettles. I always wanted to do this as nettles grow abundantly where I live in BC, Canada. The colour of the pesto is absolutely stunning.
Chris Cummings on 2020-04-16 (5 stars): I actually adapted this recipe a bit based on what I have on hand and what I need to use up. I made it with half nettles and half carrot greens; used roasted cashews instead of pine nuts (can't just dash to the store like I used to!). Delicious!
Notes to a couple of the commenters:
Nettle seed is a potent medicine, good for fatigue/low energy/burnout. Powder the dry seeds and sprinkle them over food!
Nettle leaves are great medicine too - lots of minerals and vitamins, they're diuretic and anti-allergenic and just generally fortifying for the body. If you soak them in vodka, the nutritional/medicinal stuff is pulled out of the leaves and into the vodka, so you're left with some really great medicine that you can use in a cocktail.
