STINGING NETTLE PESTO..

Stinging nettles

“Stinging Nettles?”

“Are you joking? Why can’t we just have normal basil pesto?”

That was the reaction I received when I produced this rather bright green looking pesto the other day. I must admit it isn’t something I've made before however, this doesn’t usually deter me from trying something new.

Recently there have been lots of articles in the paper and magazines about gathering your own food for free, maybe it’s the recession or just that spring is in the air. Who knows, however when I saw a huge patch of nettles at the back of the house I thought, Why not!

Nettles

The actual making of the pesto was really easy. The hardest part was trying to gather enough nettles to make a substantial quantity of pesto for the four of us.

nettle detail

It sounds stupid but it's amazing how light the leaves are. Fine if you live in the country side with abundant lanes and hedge rows, however in the city, they are harder to come by. It goes without saying you do need to wear thick gloves and have scissors and a tray or bag to put them in as you need bundles of the things.

I’m pleased to say I managed the whole thing without getting stung...but still had to answer the question

"Why eat nettles?" 

After a quick bit of research I found out that they are rich in vitamins A, C, D, K and many other minerals including iron and can often be used as a substitute for spinach. I won't put them in my salad like spinach, but cooked in a pesto, they are great.


 The colour alone is worth making it for, it's such a bright, intense green.

Intense green homemade nettle pesto

It is certainly different and served with homemade tagliatelle it's lovely, AND was a real hit with everyone.... 

 So if you have run out of basil pesto and have a patch of stingers nearby give it a go.

Spring shoots

STINGING NETTLE PESTO

Serves 4-6

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

 3 slugs of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp pistachio nuts

4 Tbsp Walnut oil

60g  stinging nettles

20g Parmesan

 Salt and pepper to taste

Nettle pesto with half a ladle full of the pasta water

WHAT TO DO:

1.     First wash the nettles in boiling water, then place in salted boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.

2.     2. Meanwhile chop a clove of garlic put it in a food blender, I used a hand held one, add the pistachio nuts, and when drained, the nettle mush and oils and blend.

3.     If you are serving straight away then add the cheese if not, refrigerate and add the cheese when you need.

Cook your pasta as needed and then add half a ladle of the pasta water to the pesto in a pan and heat gently before adding the cooked pasta into the pesto.

Really simple!! The hardest thing is not getting stung when you pick them!!

Nettle pesto pasta served in a Richard Bramble bowl.

MUSSELS -A TASTE OF SUMMER AND A QUICK EASY SUPPER.

Moules de Mer- Mussels in French Market 

Everywhere we went on our recent trip to France mussels or Moules were on the menu.

Mussels

Each place offered their own slightly different versions; there were mussels with cream, mussels with curry..not something I tried I have to admit. In St Malo we had delicious mussels with a lovely creamy, fishy, chorizo sauce, sounds awful but they were gorgeous but not great for a vegetarian food blog and of course the traditional moules marinere- the classic mussels with garlic and white wine.

Some were better than others of course.  

Garlic stall at a market in France

One of the best things about the house swap this summer was just having the time and space to stop. It also allowed me the chance to sit and look through my friends cook books. It was interesting looking at French vegetarian recipe books on Mediterranean cooking, which were extolling the virtues of the Mediterranean diet and with its simple vegetable based structure supplemented with small quantities of fish, meat and cheese. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the simple recipes can be the tastiest. You realize we do tend to over complicate food at home sometimes.

Gruissan Plage, France

Not Just For Rabbits has always been about taste and simple economical food. Food that is suitable for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike and that doesn’t take hours to prepare. So here is my simple recipe for Moules Mariniere.

Kilo's of cooked mussels

MOULES MARINIERE

Serves 4

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cloves of garlic

1 Large white onion

A dash of olive oil for frying

A glass of white wine about 8 fl oz or 220 ml  more if you want. A little tip don’t panic if you don’t have any white wine, rose does work as well if you have drunk all the white!

1.5-2 kg of fresh mussels, scrubbed and de bearded!!

Pepper to season.

WHAT TO DO:

1.     Chop the onion and garlic into small pieces, put a good slug of olive oil in a deep saucepan with a lid and then fry them gently until they are soft.

2.     Whilst this cooks wash the mussels, pull off all the bits of weed etc that are attached. Discard any broken or open shells at this stage.

3.     When they are all clean and the onions are soft add the wine to the saucepan and stir for a few seconds allowing it to warm, then gently tip in the mussels and cover with a lid for about five to seven minutes.

4.     This allows the mussels to steam open gently in the wine vapour cooking them properly. When they have opened and have changed to a light colour serve them in big bowls spooning over the wine juices to give a soup like liquid, serve with plenty of fresh bread.

Moules Mariniere and crusty bread

This is such an easy economical supper. The fish monger in France reckoned you needed 1kg of mussels per person, but we found ½ kilo more than enough, in England the fishmonger said one pint person was enough. One pint to ½ kilo is good especially if you have other courses –like cheese and crème Catalan. Now that is what I have to have a go at making next I think.

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ALTERNATIVE FISH AND CHIPS- THAT GREAT BRITISH STAPLE!

Eastbourne Pier and beach

A few weeks ago we went to Eastbourne for the Wedding of an old friend.

The sun shone, the sea sparkled and love was definitely in the air as they made their vows in the bandstand.

Bandstand Eastbourne 

In between celebrating and catching up with old friends we strolled along the seafront.  Enjoying an ice cream from the delicious Italian ice cream parlour and cafe Fusciardi’s which was so good we went back for breakfast the next day!!

 http://www.fusciardiicecreams.co.uk/

...and having a swim like true holiday makers.

For those of you who don’t know Eastbourne it is a Victorian Seaside town with a lovely seafront and wonderful pier. It is so traditional in a very British way.

Deckchairs, Ice-cream huts, seafood stalls, shops selling buckets and spades and fish and chips.

Great British Seaside

seafood stalls Eastbourne, Sussex

As much as I love a decent portion of good old fish and chips, in the recent heat deep fried batter did not appeal.

Fish and chips on Eastbourne pier 

Instead I was inspired to cook “a little fillet of plaice” as my Granny used to say.

Plaice and lemon sole have been in season recently and so are reasonably priced and extra fresh. The other good thing about plaice, for those of you who haven’t cooked much fish, is that it’s not a strong tasting fish like mackerel, so if cooking for fussy eaters it's generally well received, and a good fish to start children off on.  

Here then is my fuss free, easy, but tasty recipe for plaice and capers.

Simple, tasty and economical.

Plaice and capers served with spinach and sweet potato chips

PLAICE WITH CAPERS AND LEMON

Serves 2

Preparation time 2 minutes

Cooking time 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 fillets of plaice

Juice of half a lemon

1tbsp of capers

Slug of olive oil, pepper to season.

WHAT TO DO:

1.     Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Line an oven proof dish with aluminium foil making sure you have enough foil to make into a parcel over the fish.

2.     Put the slug of oil in the bottom and then lay the fillets on top, squeeze the lemon juice over and throw over the capers. Season with black pepper.

3.     Close the foil over the fish like a parcel leaving enough space for air to circulate around and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

4.     When cooked the fish is a lovely white colour.

Plaice and capers before cooking

Plaice and capers after cooking

Serve on a bed of wilted spinach and homemade sweet potato chips or whatever takes your fancy.

 

Deck chairs Eastbourne seafront