Nettle Pesto

Go and find some beautiful, fresh looking nettles and make a batch of this. I also love to make nettle soup which is amazing and gives you a good boost of iron.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

1 large bowl of nettle leaves with stalks removed

1/2 lemon juice

1 medium garlic clove, grated / 8-10 wild garlic leaves

140 ml extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

6 tbsp starchy pasta water

Pinch of caster sugar

90g blanched almonds

100ml pecorino, grated

Sea salt and black pepper

Bring a large saucepan to boil and salt the water.  Use tongs to add the nettle leaves and boil for 1.5/2 minutes.  Drain and place into iced water.  Clean the leaves in case of any grit.  Squeeze excess water and weigh out 80g. 

Add this to a blender along with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, grated cheese, almonds and pasta water.  Season with salt and pepper. Blend to form a smooth paste. 

Add more water to loosen and then toss through hot pasta.