Pasta With Stinging Nettles Recipes

PASTA WITH STINGING NETTLES

Steps:

• Toast walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Wearing dish gloves or disposable gloves, rinse nettles under running water to remove any dust or dirt. Cut off all the thick main stems.
• Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Drop nettles into the boiling water and cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse immediately under cold water, then drain again. Squeeze nettles gently to remove some of the excess water; they can be a little bit wet. Transfer nettles to a cutting board and chop.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and translucent, without browning, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chopped nettles and cook, stirring, until heated through. Drizzle with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Toss with pasta and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

STINGING NETTLE PESTO

Steps:

• Place hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat; cook and stir until toasted, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Wearing gloves, add nettles to boiling water; cook until nettles are tender and still maintain the bright green color, about 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Let nettles cool and drain.
• Place the nettles in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze excess water from the greens.
• Combine nettles, hazelnuts, Parmesan cheese, and salt in a food processor fitted with a puree blade. Pulse a few times before turning the processor on. Stream olive oil through the feeding tube while the processor is running until pesto is smooth.

HOMEMADE STINGING NETTLE PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch your stinging nettle leaves for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse under very cold water (this stops the cooking process). Squeeze out as much water as possible.
• Add your nettles and egg to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
• Add your flour to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixture. Using the back of a spoon create a divot in the flour and pour in your egg/nettle mixture. Using a spoon or dough hook, mix until it's well combined. Your flour mixture should not be stick to your fingers. If it is too sticky add flour; too dry add a bit of water.
• Turn out your dough on a flour surface/counter and knead until it forms a smooth/elastic ball. This will take a few minutes.
• Wrap in plastic wrap or beeswrap and place in the fridge for about half an hour.
• Roll our your dough and using your pasta maker cut your pasta into the desired shape (linguine or spaghetti). If you don't have a pasta maker alternatively you can roll your dough very thin and cut using a knife or pizza cutter.
• Either cook right way or hang for a few hours to dry (this is personal preference). Personally I have been finding better results if I let my pasta hang dry for an hour or two.
• When you are ready to cook add to a pot of boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes (fresh pasta cooks much faster than store bought dried).
• Serve with your favourite sauce, butter or pesto. Enjoy!

PASTA WITH CREAMY STINGING NETTLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pick the nettles using gloves.
• Remove the stems and blanche the leaves in boiling salted water for one minute.
• Drain and rough chop.
• Cook the pasta.
• Heat the cream in a large saute pan. Once it simmers add the nettles and reduce the misture by half.
• Drain your pasta and put into a big dish and add the Nettle Cream sauce. Add grated nutmeg, cheese and seasonings. Give it a toss and serve hot.
• Bon Appetit!