Stinging nettles are normally a wild vegetable for the springtime and early summer, but you can sometimes find them out of season
That's what I did - and I used them to make nettle gnocchi
The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 175g Plain flour
- 175g cooked potato
- 1 Egg
- 1 Clove garlic
- A large (gloved) handful of stinging nettle leaves
Method:
Use only fresh, young nettle tops - and just the leaves - the stalks can be stringy and unpleasant
To make the nettles more pleasant to handle, put them in a colander and wilt them by pouring over some boiling water - this may not completely de-sting them, but it helps
Put half the flour, plus all the other ingredients into a food processor
(Crush the garlic first, to ensure even blending)
Mix until thoroughly combined - it will form a soft paste
Add the rest of the flour and run the processor again - this time, it should form a ball of dough
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it a little
Add a little more flour if it feels sticky at any time
Cut the dough into several portions
Using floured hands, roll each portion out into a long sausage shape - about the thickness of a finger
Cut into small pieces, then (optionally) roll each of the pieces into little balls (gnocchi)
Drop the gnocchi into a large pan of rapidly-boiling salted water
(just a few at a time, to prevent them sticking together)
Cook them for about four minutes
They will float to the surface when they are ready - scoop them out using a slotted spoon and drain them in a colander
Serve with any sauce you like, or pesto, or just a little olive oil, grated parmesan and pepper
