Slightly more time intensive than other pesto recipes, stinging nettle pesto is made with blanched nettle. Blanching removes the sting, making the nettle easy to handle, and allows the pesto to be stored a little longer without discolouring. This recipe doesn’t contain cheese so it freezes very well.
Made with toasted seeds or nuts to boost the flavour a bit, it’s a nutty pesto that’s rather milder than basil or other strong herb pesto types. If you like stinging nettle soup or tea you’ll like this too. It’s a good way to use up some of this highly nutritious food that you probably want to rid your garden of, and nettle is easy to find in wooded areas too.
Whatever nettle we can’t eat is used to make an easy fertiliser. If you simply have too much, you can submerge it in water to ferment into an excellent liquid fertiliser. Simply leave it in water for a couple weeks (make sure it hasn’t gone to seed yet) then strain and mix a little with water before adding to your plants.
If you like to forage – or prevent food waste – you might also like to try this garlic mustard pesto (a personal favourite), spring classic wild garlic pesto, or stretch your fresh herbs with carrot top pesto.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Nettle: use young stinging nettle, ideally harvested the same day you make the pesto.
- Lemon: choose an organic unwaxed lemon if possible as you will be using both the zest and juice.
- Seeds or nuts: sunflower seeds are my go-to but of course you could use traditional pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, and so on. Hemp hearts are a good option but don’t toast as well.
- Olive oil: a stronger oil can be nice here, but use whatever extra virgin olive oil you usually do.
- Garlic: if raw garlic is too strong for you or you can’t eat it, you can use a few cloves of roasted garlic instead.
- Add-ins: if you eat cheese, add it as you usually would for pesto. You could mix in a handful of basil or another herb if you have some on hand (don’t blanch it).
Step by Step
Step 1: blanch the nettle and squeeze the water out. Toast the seeds or nuts.
Step 2: add everything but the oil to a small food processor or blending container.
Step 3: mix until combined – the seeds won’t blend fully – then drizzle in the oil while mixing.
Step 4: refrigerate or use immediately.
Recipe Notes
If you can’t find stinging nettle but do have dead nettle, it can be used for pesto too. You don’t need to blanch dead nettle (it doesn’t sting, hence ‘dead’).
While the colour of the pesto is a beautiful bright green after blending, for some reason it sometimes turns brown when I mix it with pasta. Sometimes it stays green, sometimes it doesn’t. Don’t worry if it loses the colour – it tastes the same.
This is a rather thick pesto and will have to be thinned out to use as a sauce. As is, it’s ideal to use as a spread. For pasta sauce, add a ladle or two of the starchy pasta water to thin it out to your desired consistency.
If you want a greener flavour, double the amount of nettle used.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days. If there’s any sign of mould, toss it, but that will only happen if your refrigerator is rather warm.
Freezing: transfer the pesto to an airtight container (or freeze in dollops on parchment paper) and freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using, or add the dollops to soups and sauces.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Harvest with scissors: a good method for harvesting nettle is to snip the tops off the plants with a pair of scissors, then use those scissors to pick up the leaves you’ve cut by the stem.
- Squeeze the water out: the sting is gone after blanching. You can use your hands or the back of a spoon to press the water out of the blanched nettle before adding to the pesto. Too much water and it will be bland.
- Use the tops: while you can use some nettle stems in pesto, avoid the large woody bits. It’s best to use fairly young nettle that hasn’t gone to seed, and use the tops of the plants. If it’s later in the season then it’s better to harvest individual leaves.
More Foraging Recipes
Wild Garlic Salt
Wild Garlic Soup
Honey Elderflower Cordial
Honey Elderberry Syrup
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Stinging Nettle Pesto
Ingredients
- 50 grams stinging nettle
- 50 grams raw seeds or nuts like sunflower seeds or walnuts
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Zest and juice of a lemon about 3 tablespoons juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Wash the nettle to remove any grit. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and once boiling, place the nettle into the water. Stir to wilt and then remove immediately. Strain the nettle and rinse immediately with cold water. Squeeze or press to remove any excess water.50 grams stinging nettle
- While the water is coming to a boil, toast the seeds or nuts in a dry pan over medium heat until golden. Watch carefully to prevent burning. They can be left raw if preferred.50 grams raw seeds or nuts
- Add the blanched nettle, seeds or nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a small food processor or blending container (if using an immersion blender).1-2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, Zest and juice of a lemon
- Blend until combined and the nettle has broken down. It shouldn't be completely smooth and there will be some seed or nut pieces visible.
- Add the oil in a slow stream while blending until the oil is fully incorporated. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to five days. Nettle pesto freezes well.3 tablespoons olive oil
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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