Kitchen Medicine: Green Sauces with Nettle

An installment in my continued commitment to not waste the abundant and aggressive nettle crop I have growing in my yard. These green sauces are an embrace of life for me,  a pathway to the things that I love: recipe collecting, discovery of brilliant herbal use and reason to shop for interesting ingredients, green or otherwise. Please come along and sauce with me. To Blanch Nettle/Remove the Sting: Use tongs or gloves to handle prior to blanching Heat a small amount of water in a large pot Plunge nettle leaf into hot water or place in a steamer basket Boil for 3-7 minutes until just wilted Refresh with cold water or in a bowl of iced water For Nettle Salsa Verde: 6-7 tomatillos, remove husks, scrub under water 4 cups nettle leaf (1/3 pound, blanched 1 sweet onion, peeled and quartered. 2-3 Serrano chilis 4 cloves garlic, peeled 12 to 15 sprigs of cilantro 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste find preparation instructions here For Nettle Pesto: 3 cups nettle leaves, blanched 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves 1 clove garlic, chopped into pieces 1/2 cup pine nuts which you can toast a bit or you don't have to 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 2-3 tablespoons softened butter salt and pepper to taste Find preparation instructions here Mentions: Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert ---Deepest gratitude to Andrea Klunder, my podcast boss.  Find her at thecreativeimposter.com. Original music by Dylan Rice --- CONNECT WITH DINA --- Please send me you comments, requests, or feedback.  Send me a message, voice or write an email, my email is [email protected].  I look forward to hearing from you! To get herb inspired recipes, plant profiles and read more about herbal medicine, visit my website at: theherbalbakeshoppe.com Join me on Patreon Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter If you enjoyed this episode, please SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW where ever you like to listen to podcasts! And if you have time, kindly leave me a rating and review. --- ABOUT DINA --- Dina Ranade is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild and a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist. She is also a mom of three - two daughters in college and a 17 year old son finishing up high school. Dina loves cooking for her family despite the challenges that this creates. She passionately loves exploring culinary herbalism and has been working on stocking her home kitchen apothecary or medicine cabinet.