Nettle Pesto

Stinging nettles do sting, but you can eat them and they are a fantastic herb with amazing nutritional benefits. A quick blanch of the leaves and you have the base for a pesto that you can use on pasta, over fish, dolloped into soups and over bruschetta.

Servings: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 - 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced use more if you are partial to garlic, less if you have a sensitivity to the heat of garlic

• 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

• 2 Tbsp Parmesan or Asiago any hard cheese will do, really

• 1 cup blanched nettles

• extra virgin olive oil choose a high quality oil that is used for drizzling or dipping

• salt to taste

• 2 tsp fresh mint optional

Instructions

1. Carefully blanch the nettles (and mint if you are using it). Using tongs, drop fresh nettles into boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately drain and plunge into cold water. They are fine to handle now without the tongs, drain and mince.

2. Decision time - shall you pound the pine nuts or leave them whole? I prefer a little of both. Using a mortar and pestle - place half the pine nuts in the mortar and pound them a few times. The word "pesto" means pound they are bouncy little guys so give them a smack with conviction. Add in the nettles and garlic, salt and most of the cheese (save a pinch for garnish) and pound away.

3. If you are using a processor, pulse a couple times. We are looking for a mash with a pretty uniform texture but not a puree.

4. Now for the olive oil. How much you use will depend how moist your pesto is so far and what your intention is. If you didn't drain off all the water, you may have a fairly moist pesto that will only need a drizzle of oil. If you are using it over pasta use up to 2 Tbsp.

5. Serve over fresh pasta garnished with a few more whole pine nuts and cheese. Also consider serving it on fish, on bruschetta, or dolloped into a minestrone or white bean soup. Just delish.

Recipe Highlights

• Nutritionally, 1 cup of stewed or blanched nettles has a mere 36 calories, 6.5  g of carbs, 2.5 g of protein and no fat.  It's the mineral profile that make nettles magical.  They are an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin A.  Nearly three times the daily RDA of vitamin A can be found in 1 cup of nettles and they are fantastic source of Vitamin K which is essential for proper blood clotting and bone health and calcium absorption.

• Energetics: Nettles have a sweet, salty flavor.  They cool the body and dry excess damp conditions, while nourishing Yin.  They astringe, nourish, dissolve masses, restore and stabilize.  Find out more.