Nettle and Spinach Risotto
by: Sherri Dymond
It may sound like an unlikely statement, but I am a risotto convert. It had been a dish I did not deem worth the effort of standing over a pot, stirring almost constantly. Also brought shivers of endless arancini balls I then had to roll out of the cooled finished product in a busy London restaurant I worked at. When I made it at home for friends, all of us drinking delicious wine, chatting and laughing as I cooked, it became a different dish, one I loved to cook in the company of people I really wanted to feed. It was like my risotto awakening and I embraced it in all its creamy glory. On one of our daily walks through the park we are lucky enough to be iso-dating by, I came across a patch of nettles, standing gloriously (if not slightly menacingly) to attention in the spring sunshine. I insisted my boyfriend send me a reminder to pack a knife and an extra canvas bag to collect some the following day. To his shock, and with a look of bewilderment, he questioned me on actually being able to eat them.
“Do they taste nice?”
“Yes, I promise.”
“How do you get the sting out?”
“You blanch them, trust me. Free food!”
I was determined to get him over to my side of the dinner table.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
100g risotto rice
700 ml vegetable or chicken stock (stock packet or homemade)
100 ml white wine (whatever you have opened or are planning to drink)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp olive oil
½ a shopping bag of nettles, leaves picked (use kitchen gloves to protect from a sting)
2 handfuls spinach
30 grams grated parmesan, plus more to finish
Knob of butter
Zest of ½ lemon
Method:
Carefully give the nettles a good soak in the sink or a bowl. I change the water a few times to ensure they are clean. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and gently blanch nettles for 4 minutes. Add spinach and blanch for another minute. Drain and refresh under cold water. Heat your stock up.
Heat a wide heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add olive oil, then onion and celery with a pinch of salt. Gently cook until translucent, trying not to get any colour, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the rice. Stir to coat rice, then add a glass of wine and simmer until the wine has absorbed. Add a ladle of hot stock into the pan and stir until almost absorbed, then continue adding stock a ladle at a time and stirring until absorbed; this should take about 15 minutes. Taste the rice to make sure it’s cooked; I love risotto because of the creamy texture that still has a bit of bite to it.
Chop up the nettles and spinach and add to the risotto, stirring to combine. Add the parmesan and stir again. Season to taste.
Plate up and grate more parmesan over the top with a sprinkling of lemon zest.