Early spring provides the best and most nutritional greens; go for the top leaves as they are the youngest / least bitter of the plant. Use gloves to pick in order to avoid stinging your hands. And do not be scared of the sting; a quick boil before use will remove it. Save the water to drink.
The nettles can be used as a replacement where you would use any other greens. A simple pesto sauce with a bit of a British Isles twist is a great way to enjoy the flavour.
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
50g toasted hazelnuts or walnuts or breadcrumbs
Bring a pot of water to boil and drop the nettle tops in for two minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of iced water immediately. Drain again and pat with kitchen towel to remove excess water and pick of the leaves. Discarding the stems.
Put your food processor on a slow speed setting and drop in the nettles, nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, zest, juice and 100 ml of the oil. As soon as it is well combined stop the processor to avoid over mixing . Place in a bowl and stir through the remaining oil to serve. It can be stored for a few weeks in the fridge in sterilized jars. Cover the top of the pesto with oil, cover with a thin layer of cling film and seal the jars tightly.
As below, I made it to accompany Jerusalem artichoke pancakes and wild mushrooms fried with butter and sage.
