The classic Italian sauce, Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but it can realistically be made with a variety or herbs such as mint, cilantro, parsley, and our favorite nettle! In Italy, they have nettle pesto in the spring called pesto d’urtica. Nettle pesto isn’t as aromatic as classic basil pesto and has a more “green” flavor to it. Below we will go through how to make nettle pesto at home!
What you’ll need
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 heaping tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated cheese (any hard cheese will do)
½ to 2/3 cup blanched, chopped nettle
Salt
Olive oil
Food Processor
Instructions
- In your food processor, you’ll first add the pine nuts and crush light. (just pulse a couple of times)
- Next, add the garlic and pulse again. Add the salt, cheese, and nettle and continue to pulse. You want to run the food processor until everything combines, but isn’t a smooth paste, you want some texture!
- Lastly, add your olive oil! If you are creating pesto to use as a pasta sauce, uses 4-5 tablespoons. If you are making pesto spread, try to use 2 tablespoons. Add 1 tablespoon at a time either way!
That’s all! Nettle pesto is very simple to make, but is packed with amazing flavor. You can store nettle pesto in the refrigerator for up to a week! Enjoy!
For more information about Nettle Pesto and more Nettle recipes visit Nettle Pesto