Wild Nettle Pesto
May is the month for nettles, if you take them later, not only might you remove a nesting ground for ladybirds, but once they are flowering, they are less good for you. If you haven’t tried it before, nettle pesto is great with pasta, over frittata, or an open sandwich and it takes no time to make.
To select your nettles, ideally avoid roadside foraging or popular dog walking areas (!) and just look for the young, fresh leaves at the top of the stem (you want to avoid the bigger older leaves as they are bitter). I recommend using gloves and scissors to avoid the sting – if you ask our children, you can however pick them without getting stung if you hold your breath, because your pores close momentarily. Bit of a cavalier way to approach things if you ask me – so I’m not recommending you try that!
INGREDIENTS
a colander full of fresh nettles, younger smaller leaves
50g of pine nuts
50g finely grated parmesan
1 clove of garlic
150ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil – S’Ciappau from Frantoio Paolo Cassini is perfect
a squeeze of lemon juice and seasoning to taste
METHOD
Wash the nettles and meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to the boil. When at boiling point, add the nettles for just 2 minutes. Remove and refresh in iced water.
Gently toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until they are just beginning to take on a golden hue. And then in a small food processor, add the drained and patted dry nettles, the pine nuts, parmesan, lemon, seasoning and extra virgin olive oil.
Transfer to a sterilized jar and you can store in the fridge for up to one week as with any other pesto.