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.

SCALLOPS AND SAMPHIRE..2 THINGS THAT DON'T FEATURE IN THE AVERAGE TEENAGE VEGETARIANS DIET

Scallops

Scallops and samphire...2 things that don’t feature on the average teenage vegetarians weekly meal planner, however over the last few weeks, when we were in the Outer Hebrides, we came to eat rather a lot of them.

Deserted windswept beach on North Uist, Outer Hebrides.

Lobster pots

In fact I can’t believe that this time 2 weeks ago we were picking samphire on a windswept Hebridian beach and diving ..Well snorkling in my case ..for scallops.

Samphire

Before the memory is swamped by routine I thought I would share it with you in case you have a chance to escape for a seaside walk this weekend and gather your own samphire or even scallops!

I have to confess I didn’t actually get many scallops...(a few technical hitches with my duck dives!!), unlike Richard, but I did haul lobster pots - see Richard Bramble’s blog

http://www.richardbramble.co.uk/blog.php

and fab photo’s of the boys braving the waves to check the lobster pots on my birthday!! 

With Richard’s local knowledge and years of practice we dropped pots and caught several lobsters as well as collecting great hauls of scallops from different locations.

Lobsters on the beach

Fresh lobster straight from the pot

The lobsters were SO beautiful we were all inspired to paint or photograph them, and the velvet crabs, that had also climbed into the pots. 

Beautiful Lobster tail.

Velvet crab

Teen V wasn’t too impressed by the whole catching and cooking of the lobsters, feeling it was rather barbaric. 

It brought to the fore the whole reason why she became vegetarian in the first place, she enjoyed the samphire more.

Picking samphire in North Uist

For the rest of us it was fantastic to catch something and eat it.

 Luckily on the day we had our big Pollock haul Teen V was elsewhere as I’m not sure she would have appreciated the Pollock slithering in the bottom of the boat around her feet..despite the delicious Pollock curry we had later that evening.

That was the day we saw the sea eagles close up, which was spectacular.

Fresh Pollock 

Richard Bramble and H with the prize pollock.

I don't in principal like to put pictures of people on this blog. I prefer the food to be the main feature. However I do have to make an exception here, just to show off the huge Pollock because I'm sure no one would have believed me if I had started to explain just how big it was!!! 

So, if you are looking for a starter, side dish or healthy snack and happen upon some samphire it is well worth the effort- minimal!-  of picking some.

It is delicious lightly fried in a little olive oil and butter for about 4 minutes. It has been called sea asparagus and I can see why.

Samphire in butter and olive oil. 

The other night I threw handfuls into the spinach sauce I was making for pasta and was surprised how well it went. I also added it raw, to the mixed green salad and again it worked really well.

It is best picked in July and August so get hunting before the season is over!

Returning from a day out in North Uist

The next time I tuck into a scallop, a sprig of samphire or a fish curry I will think of the windswept landscape of North Uist.