Nettle, Garlic Mustard & Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
As soon as spring arrives the plant I’m the most excited to greet each year is Nettles. They’re a true harbinger of spring, one of earliest greens, and a vitamin and mineral-rich herbal multivitamin that also delivers the highest amounts of protein per serving in the plant kingdom- upwards of 30%! They grow abundantly in the wild throughout most of the US and especially love farmland, old/abandoned farms, land that held/has livestock, and old compost piles. If you can’t find them in the wild try your local farmers market in the spring or a local co-op or try growing them yourself! They readily spread and hardly need any coddling to grow- this is truly a plant anyone can cultivate. Locally, Sawmill Herb Farm in Florence sells Nettles starts in the spring and Strictly Medicinals in Oregon ships Nettles starts and has seeds too!
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a plant many folks in the northeast are familiar with. Originally native to Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, and the SWANA region, it was brought here by colonists in the mid-late 1800’s and had now found its way across much of the continent. The entire plant is edible- leaves, roots, stems, seed pods and seed, flowers and flowering stalks. For this recipe you can use the leaves and/or the flowering or budding stalks. Look for it in floodplain forest habitats, woodland edges, fields, gardens- basically anywhere humans have disturbed the soil. It’s a member of the Brassica Family, which includes many familiar vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and kale but is more bitter than most American palates can take, which is a shame because the bitter taste taste is so medicinal! When blended in this recipe with the Nettles and roasted red pepper it imparts a subtle, garlic-y, and mildly bitter flavor which brings a luscious depth of flavor. And now for the recipe!
Nettles and Garlic Mustard growing together in early spring
Nettles, Garlic Mustard & Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh Nettles tops (Urtica dioica)
1 cup fresh Garlic Mustard leaves (Alliaria petiolata) -can use Arugula or a similar spicy/bitter Brassica if you don’t have Garlic Mustard where you live
2 cups Roasted Red Peppers
4 large cloves Garlic
3 tbsp Pine Nuts, Walnuts or Almonds
4 tbsp Parmesan (optional)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Sea salt to taste
Directions:
Rinse the Garlic Mustard and Nettles and then squeeze out excess water or put through a salad spinner. Put the Garlic Mustard, Nettles, Garlic, Pine Nuts and Roasted Red Peppers in a food processor and blend until minced. Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending. Last, add the Parmesan and give a quick zoom in the food processor but don’t over-blend. Add salt to taste and know that the parm helps cut the bitterness of the Garlic Mustard so if you’re leaving that out you may need to adjust this recipe a bit and add a bit more salt, less olive oil, and maybe less Garlic Mustard!
This is potent food as medicine that helps wake-up the body after a winter of heavy foods, invigorates digestion, nourishes and supports the liver, nutrifies the body and harmonizes is with the expansive energy of the spring. Use on pasta, in rice, topped on eggs or veggies, as a dip with your favorite veggies, with crackers, on meats...you get the idea. Enjoy!
