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Well, this is a recipe I never anticipating writing. In my younger days, I spent lots of timing pulling these pokey little buggers out of my yard and promptly throwing them into the garbage. Fast forward 10 years, and I’m all suited up in a long-sleeved shirt and gardening gloves, carefully trimming off the leaves of any and every nettle plant that I can find.
In addition to nettle tea, my all-time favorite way to use this versatile herb is in pesto. When combined with spinach and cilantro or basil, it tastes like springtime in a bowl – green, fresh and light. Make sure you briefly boil or sauté those nettle leaves first though; the stingers can leave painful welts – ouch!
Preparation (Nettle Leaves)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil, and wearing gardening gloves, gather enough nettle leaves to halfway fill a 1-gallon pail.
- Dump leaves into a strainer and rinse under warm water.
- Dump leaves into boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes.
- Remove leaves with tongs and submerge into cold water.
- Remove leaves from water and place on a towel to air dry.
Preparation (Spinach)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Dump spinach into boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes.
- Remove spinach with tongs and submerge into cold water.
- Remove spinach from water and place on a towel to air dry.
Ingredients
- 1 cup prepared nettles (see above)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 cup prepared spinach (see above)
- ¼ cup soaked and dried pine nuts, nut or seed of choice, or omit
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ⅓-½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- Unrefined sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
- In food processor, combine nettles, cilantro, spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and garlic cloves.
- Drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
- Add sea salt to taste.
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