Recipe Pairing: Nettle Pesto Pasta with Sokol Blosser Willamette Valley Estate Pinot Gris
Ingredients
- 4 cups of raw nettles (if you can’t find nettles at your local farmer’s market, you can substitute two cups of spinach and two cups of basil)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts (reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish)
- 1/2 cup of EVOO
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup of grated parmesan (plus more to garnish)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon zest for the garnish
- Kosher salt to taste
- 12oz linguine or fettuccine pasta
Preparation
1.Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. While wearing gloves (or carefully using tongs) place the nettles into the boiling water and cook for one minute. After one minute, remove the nettles from the pot and plunge the nettles into an ice bath to stop them from cooking. Once they have cooled completely, remove them from the ice bath and drain them in a colander. Remove leaves (discarding the stems) and wring the leaves out in a clean towel to remove as much water as possible.
2. Combine the nettles, garlic, pine nuts, EVOO, lemon juice, black pepper, and parmesan into a blender or food processor. Pulse until uniformly chopped but not pureed. Season to taste with salt.
3. Boil the pasta in well salted water until al dente. Toss the pasta with the pesto sauce and taste again for seasoning. Garnish the pasta with fresh lemon zest, pine nuts, and parmesan.
Enjoy!
