Nettle Pesto Pasta
This stinging nettle pesto recipe yields a silky, fresh sauce ready to be eaten as a spread or folded with pasta. Plus: Learn how to cook nettles to avoid injury.
Servings: 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
- 1 large bag (approx. 10 oz.) fresh nettles
- 5 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus additional for pasta water)
- 2 dozen turns fresh-cracked black pepper
- 1 lemon for juicing
- 1 large pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 pound medium-sized dried pasta, such as cavatelli or mezze rigatoni
Instructions
- Generously salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.
- Being careful not to let your skin come into contact with the nettles, dump the entire bag of nettles into the boiling water, along with the garlic. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to fully submerge the greens. Blanch for about 45 seconds to one minute. This wilts the burrs.
- Use tongs to transfer the nettles and garlic into a colander to drain, reserving the water. If you're making pasta, return the water to a boil, and add the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, press the excess moisture from the nettles. Dump them onto a cutting board and give the greens and garlic a rough chop. (They are totally safe to handle at this point.)
- Transfer the nettles and garlic to a blender. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, red pepper flakes. Blitz it all up in the blender until it becomes a smooth pesto. You may need to add a little pasta nettle water to loosen it.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain the pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water. Add the drained pasta back into the empty pot. Off the heat, add the pesto and stir vigorously to combine. Taste for seasoning. Stir in a little pasta water if the pasta looks a little dry.
- Serve with freshly-grated pecorino-Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and some more hot red pepper flakes.
Notes
This silky stinging nettle pesto recipe takes minutes to prepare, and lets this fresh spring and summer green shine.
When handling raw nettles, be sure to not touch them directly. They are coated in little burrs. Here, learn to wilt the leaves in boiling water to neutralize them, then make this effortless pesto.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
