Wild Nettle Pesto Recipe
Nettles grow abundantly across the UK, making them ideal for first-time foragers (see ‘BK Tips’). Packed with nutrients, this wild nettle pesto recipe from Cook School Manager John plays has pumpkin seeds and Pecorino Romano. It will last up to five days stored in the fridge.
Makes about 180g (enough for 2 servings of pasta)
Makes about 180g (enough for 2 servings of pasta)
Ingredients
30g freshly picked nettles
1 small garlic clove
30g pumpkin seeds
100ml neutral oil (sunflower, ideally)
20g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 small garlic clove
30g pumpkin seeds
100ml neutral oil (sunflower, ideally)
20g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Method
- Thoroughly wash the nettles in cold water, wearing rubber gloves to protect your hands. Pick out any larger stalks and dry the leaves in a salad spinner; try to get them as dry as possible. Spread them in an even layer in a large bowl.
- Place the garlic clove in a pestle and mortar with 2g (1/2 tsp) of salt and grind into a paste.
- Place the pumpkin seeds in a saucepan and toast over a high heat. Stop when the seeds start to bulge and crack, and take on a light brown hue. Add the seeds to the pestle and mortar and grind with the garlic until you have a rough paste.
- Add the neutral oil to the same saucepan and place over high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke (190-200°C), carefully spoon some of the oil over the nettles. Do this in stages, moving the nettles around the oil to make sure it all cooks properly in the oil. The leaves should look like wilted spinach.
- Using a slotted spoon, strain the nettles and add them to the pestle and mortar, leaving behind any excess oil. Grind the nettles into a rough paste, working the pestle into the corners to break down any fibres left in the soft stalks. (This will take roughly 3 minutes of grinding.) Add the grated Pecorino Romano and work it into the pesto. Finish the pesto with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
BK Tips
- To eat this pesto with pasta, add two to three large spoons to freshly cooked pasta, along with some of the pasta water. Stir well to combine.
- Nettles are best at the start of spring, around late March and April, but are available all the way until October. They are best harvested in the morning.
- When you forage, be picky! Choose the greenest, softest tops where the stalks are thin. Always wear appropriately thick rubber gloves, as well as long-sleeved tops and trousers, when foraging. Avoid leaves below the sixth leaf, or plants which look old and woody – older nettles contain higher levels of calcium oxalate and should be avoided by anyone prone to kidney stones. Make sure to pick away from main roads or farmland fields, and always thoroughly wash nettles before use.
