Nettle Leaf Pesto

Recipe by: Jeanette with Nettles & Rose Co.

@nettlesandrose.co

Nettle Leaf grows abundantly in many of our own backyards and can be used to whip up this nutritious sauce and condiment. This recipe can store in the fridge up to a week. 

SERVINGS:1 CUP

PREP TIME:15 MINUTES

COOK TIME:5 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME:20 MINUTES

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 heaping tablespoons of 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)

INSTRUCTIONS 

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.