Home-made Pesto

Nettles are a big thing in my family, the first batch of nettle soup usually signifies that me and my brothers birthdays are approaching as this was one thing we always had as part of our birthday meals growing up. Where we used to live nettles grew in abundance and huge pans of soup were easy to make. I now don't have this easy access to them but managed to get my hands on roughly half a carrier bags worth when visiting my mum. A lot of people are put off nettle by the idea of being stung but as long as you are careful and prepare them properly they offer a fantastic, slightly earthy taste and are packed full of goodness.

Be careful when picking, either wear gardening gloves or washing up gloves and just pick the young shoots from the top of the nettles. Always rinse them well after picking and ensure to pick over them removing any other leaves or creatures that may have accidentally been picked. You can also quickly blanch the nettles in hot water before preparing but the ones I used were very young and non-stingy.

Ingredients:

1/2 carrier bag of nettles
250g sunflower seeds
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh chives
juice of 1 lime
6 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Once you have prepared the nettles, place the all the ingredients excluding the nettles and oil into a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. Add in the nettles (I chopped mine roughly as my processor is small and not overly powerful) and blitz again, slowly adding the olive oil until a smooth paste is formed. Add salt and pepper to taste then decant into jars or boxes to store in the fridge. This will oxidize slightly but its nothing to be concerned about.

I have used this pesto to top a bowl of vegetable soup adding a fresh earthiness and also stirred through pasta for a delicious take on a classic.

Please tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife when you make this, cause you really should! Be brave!