By Danilo Cortellini
Stinging Nettle pasta
6 steps
Prep:1h 30min
I learned the hard way as a kid that nettles can be a quite distressing encounter (I fell on a bush, I was wearing shorts ๐ญ๐ญ). If you touch its leaves it causes itchy rashes.
It was only years later that I learned to use it in my cooking and to my joy, during the spring and summer months, nettles can be found spontaneously growing in many green areas of the country!
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When cooked in fact, nettles are edible and fun to use with a very grassy flavor, nice to actually make pasta and a tasty pesto with it. On this occasion, I have used it to make โCeppeโ a traditional pasta shape from abruzzo ๐ฎ๐น
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Remember to always have care when handling raw nettle leaves, wear gloves and consume them only when cooked โบ๏ธ
Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 10:31:32 GMT
Nutrition balance score
Good
Glycemic Index
73
High
Glycemic Load
60
High
Nutrition per serving
Calories604.1 kcal (30%)
Total Fat21.9 g (31%)
Carbs81.7 g (31%)
Sugars1.3 g (1%)
Protein18.8 g (38%)
Sodium304.4 mg (15%)
Fiber5.4 g (19%)
% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Ingredients
6 servings
For the nettle pesto
Instructions
Step 1
Knead well as I am doing in the video. The boiled nettle needs to be drained and pat dried but not super squeezed. If the pasta is too sticky add a sprinkle of flour, is too dry a splash of water. It needs to come off your hands after kneading.
Step 2
When ready, wrap your dough in film and leave to rest for about 30 minutes, this will allow the dough to โrelaxโ and not being too elastic when shaping your pasta.
Step 3
After it has rested, cut thick strips of pasta and then with the palm of your hands roll it on the table to thin it out. Press gently and while you do that also move your hands apart from each other. Keep the pasta that you are not using at the moment covered with film or it will dry out.
Step 4
Cut the strips into little nuggets. Now press the skewer into the little piece of pasta and press it around it. Roll all the way forward with the palm of your hand while pressing gently. Once the weird looking pasta is done gently remove the skewer (should look like a worm). Again, these are easier to make than explain how to.
Step 5
Chefโs tips: If you keep the fresh pasta shaped in the fridge for ยฝ days make sure it is properly dusted with flour for the humidity and kept in a covered container/tray. Alternatively, you can freeze it in sealed boxes and cook it straight from the frozen into boiling water.
Step 6
For the pesto, Squeeze the blanched nettles and blitz all the ingredients together until creamy.
Cook the pasta al dente and dress away from the heat. Add extra cheese and lemon zest on top. Garnish with fresh basil.
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