Nettle Risotto
A vibrant green, super healthy and tasty side dish
Ingredients
- 5 Oz. Spring Stinging Nettles Harvest with tongs and scissors, taking care not to touch them.
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Medium Shallot, finely chopped
- 1 Clove Garlic, Pressed
- 1/2 Cup Arborio Rice
- 2 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2½ Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
Harvesting and Preparing Nettles
- In springtime, grab your kitchen tongs, scissors and a garden hod or basket. Head out to your "nettle patch" and clip off the tops of enough plants to fill your hod. I clip the top 2-3 leaf pairs, depending on how new and tender they are. Simply use your tongs to pinch the top of the nettle and then clip it off with the scissors. Place in your garden hod.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Fill a large bowl with ice cold water. Set aside
- Using your tongs, transfer the nettles into the boiling water. Stir and blanch for 3 minutes.
- Remove them to the bowl of cold water and stir to completely cool the nettles.
- Dump the nettles into a colander to drain. At this point, you can touch the nettles without being stung, and they are easy to work with.
- Trim the nettles by holding the stem above a 1/2 cup and clipping off the leaves with scissors, allowing them to fall into the measuring cup. Continue clipping until filled with leaves. Occasionally turn upside down and press water out. You will want to get the leaves as dry as possible.
- Once you have about a half cup of pressed and "dry" leaves in the measuring cup, turn it out onto a cutting board and separate the leaves.
- Finely chop the nettles.
- Measure out a heaping 1/2 cup of chopped nettles. Set aside.
Risotto
- Add stock, salt, and wine to a large measuring cup or bowl.
- Add Butter to a large skillet placed on medium burner. Melt.
- Once melted, add finely chopped shallots. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until shallots are tender and opaque.
- Press garlic into shallot mixture. Heat for about a minute, until it becomes fragrant.
- Add Arborio Rice to the skillet. Stir and heat for about a minute.
- Add 1/2 cup of broth mixture to the rice. Stir until combined, and continue stirring occasionally until the liquid has been absorbed.
- Once liquid has been absorbed, continue adding 1/2 cup liquid at a time, stirring after each addition until it has absorbed. Stir often, as the more you stir, the creamier your final product will be.
- With the last 1/2 cup addition, add your reserved, chopped nettles.
- Once liquid has been mostly absorbed, but the mixture is still a bit "soupy", add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, and until liquid is mostly absorbed. Check for seasoning and adjust salt as needed.
- Remove to plates. Grate a bit more Parmesan over top. Enjoy!
