If you have stinging nettles growing in your garden, the chances are that you see them as a weed and try and get rid of them. However, stinging nettles can be used in cooking – nettle soup is delicious.
The trick is to use only young nettle leaves: cut just the top off each young plant (about 2/3 inches / 5/7 cm) – using gloves of course. And harvest them only in the spring or early summer (if you’ve cut them back in the spring, new nettles will shoot up in early summer).
Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book
Tuscan cuisine traditionally makes good use of fresh ingredients like this, found in the countryside and garden. So it’s no surprise that the following recipe for Green Nettle Gnocchi with Cream and Fresh Herbs, (which appears here with permission) comes from Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book by Tessa Kiros (pub. Murdoch Books £16.99). People in Tuscany still prefer to use fresh, seasonal produce and Tessa Kiros reflects this by dividing the book into – yes, twelve chapters, with recipes for each month of the year. This recipe for nettle gnocchi appears under April. She suggests that, if you don’t have nettles available, you can use spinach instead.
Green Nettle Gnocchi with Cream and Fresh Herbs – Recipe
Gnocchi Verdi con panna ed erbette
Ingredients – Serves 6
- 800g (1lb 12 oz) waxy potatoes
- 800g (1lb 12oz) young green nettle leaves
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 50g (½ cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- About 200g (70z) plain (all purpose) flour
- 50g (1¾ oz) butter
- 1 tablespoon each of these fresh chopped herbs: Tarragon, sage, mint, basil, thyme and parsley
- A splash of good-quality brandy
- 250ml (1 cup) thick (single) cream
- About 120g (1¼ cups) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
- Wash the potatoes and boil them in their skins in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes, being careful not to overcook them. Drain and when cool enough to handle, peel them. Pass the potatoes through a food mill – or grate them through the large holes of a grater, into a wide bowl.
- Wearing gloves, rinse the nettles in a couple of changes of cold water, then boil for a couple of minutes in lightly salted water. Drain well and when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Chop finely on a wooden board and mix into the potatoes. Add the egg and the Parmesan cheese, then season with salt and pepper. Add enough flour to make a soft and elastic dough, mixing with your hands.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Lightly flour your work surface. Working quickly, break off pieces of the dough and roll out into long cylindrical strands of about 1 cm (½ inch) in diameter. Cut these strands into pieces at about 2cm (¾ inch) intervals with a sharp knife. Put them onto a lightly floured tray or large plate until you are ready to cook them.
- Cook the prepared gnocchi in batches in the boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. When they float to the surface they are ready. Keep the gnocchi in a buttered oven dish if you will not be mixing them immediately into the sauce.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the herbs and sauté for a minute or so to flavour the butter. Add the brandy, cook for another minute, then add the cream. Heat through until it bubbles up.
- Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon or wire strainer, allowing the water to drain off and add them to the saucepan. Toss to coat evenly. You can add a little hot milk, or some of the cooking water to thin it out if necessary, though it should not be too liquid. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Rebecca Ford - I'm a UK based freelance travel writer and photographer - and the country I most like to visit is Italy. That's not just because of the ...
