Nettle Walnut Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blanched nettle leaves, about 1 (6 oz) fresh nettles (See Cook’s Tip for blanching instructions)
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 large clove garlic clove
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram or thyme
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup Metropolitan Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil, more as needed
• Kosher salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread walnuts on baking sheet. Toast for 5-10 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Cool. Finely chop.
3. Finely chop blanched nettles and place in a medium bowl. Chop garlic and add to nettles with marjoram or thyme, Parmesan, and olive oil. Stir well to blend. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and another spoonful of olive oil, if needed.
4. Cook’s Tip:
5. To blanch nettles, bring a large pot of water to a boil. With tongs or gloved hands, add nettles. Stir and simmer for 2 minutes. While the nettles cook, prepare a bowl of ice water. Drain nettles and plunge into ice water to cool. Drain again. Remove leaves from stems and squeeze out liquid. Pat dry on a clean towel. Save cooking liquid for tea, if you like.