I was in Milan this week and tasted Risotto all'Ortica - Nettle Risotto for the first time.
It was a vibrant green, and had a pleasant, peppery flavour.
Never one to miss the chance of a free meal, armed with latex gloves and a bag, I went in search of nettles.
Before I had half filled my bag it was apparent that the sting in your common nettle is more than a match for latex gloves. Twelve hours later my fingers are still tingling. I'll wear marigolds next time.
Melt 50g of butter in a heavy-based pan, add a chopped onion, and cook gently until translucent.
It was a vibrant green, and had a pleasant, peppery flavour.
Never one to miss the chance of a free meal, armed with latex gloves and a bag, I went in search of nettles.
Before I had half filled my bag it was apparent that the sting in your common nettle is more than a match for latex gloves. Twelve hours later my fingers are still tingling. I'll wear marigolds next time.
Still, I managed to collect a fair bunch, choosing only the fresh new shoots with just two full leaves.
Back in the kitchen I washed them and picked out a surprising number of tiny snails, who clearly aren't worried by the stings.
The various recipes online disagree on the matter of pre-cooking the nettles. Some add them raw at the fry-the-onion-in-the-butter stage. Others blanch them first, chop them then add at the add-the-stock-ladle-by-ladle stage. I opted for the latter, mainly because I had seen all the snails and wanted to be sure I had got them all.
The result looked great, but lacked the peppery edge I had tasted in Milan. Maybe I should have left some of the snails in after all.
Risotto all'Ortica
Blanch the nettles in salted boiling water, drain and blitz in a food processor.
Back in the kitchen I washed them and picked out a surprising number of tiny snails, who clearly aren't worried by the stings.
The various recipes online disagree on the matter of pre-cooking the nettles. Some add them raw at the fry-the-onion-in-the-butter stage. Others blanch them first, chop them then add at the add-the-stock-ladle-by-ladle stage. I opted for the latter, mainly because I had seen all the snails and wanted to be sure I had got them all.
The result looked great, but lacked the peppery edge I had tasted in Milan. Maybe I should have left some of the snails in after all.
Risotto all'OrticaBlanch the nettles in salted boiling water, drain and blitz in a food processor.
Melt 50g of butter in a heavy-based pan, add a chopped onion, and cook gently until translucent.
Add the rice (two handfuls per person) and toast it in the butter until it starts to brown.
Add a generous glass of dry white wine (this adds an acid note to the dish). Let the wine evaporate until the onion and rice are nearly dry, then start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly, each time waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful.
After about 10 minutes, add the nettle purée, and carry on cooking, adding stock as you go, until the rice is soft but still firm.
Remove from the heat and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon, beat in a generous knob of butter and some grated parmesan.
I added a lightly poached egg on top. I'm not sure why.
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