• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Subscribe
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Finding the Forgotten Feast

  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • Stories
  • About
    • Public Events
    • Privacy Policy
  • Wild Game
    • Venison Recipes
    • Duck Recipes and Goose Recipes
    • Rabbits, Hares and Squirrels
    • Pheasants, Turkey, Quail
    • Dove Recipes
    • Wild Pig and Bear Recipes
    • My Best Taco Recipes
    • Wild Game Sauces
  • Charcuterie
    • Homemade Sausage Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Bacon, Jerky, Hams, etc
    • Salami Recipes
    • Confit, Pate, Terrines
  • Fish
    • General Fish Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Snapper Recipes
    • Crabs, Shellfish and Squid
    • Little Fish and Oddballs
  • Gathering
    • Preservation Recipes
    • Mushrooms
    • Sweet Things
    • Wild Greens and Herbs
    • Acorns, Nuts, Starches
  • Podcast
Home » Italian » Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi » Nettle Risotto

Nettle Risotto

By Hank Shaw on March 9, 2022, Updated April 18, 2022 - Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Comment
4.60 from 5 votes
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Stinging nettle risotto rocks. It is the essence of “green,” and is super healthy, too.

A bowl of nettle risotto.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

What’s more, blanched nettles will keep their emerald loveliness even after a good 15 minutes of cooking, which makes a nettle risotto visually stunning.

The dish itself is pretty simple: Risotto rice, cooked nettles, butter, shallot, garlic, a little pecorino cheese and stock. The basic structure of this risotto holds with all sorts of variations. You could use a different grated cheese, such as parmigiana or a Greek mizithra. You can use onions instead of shallots.

And while this is intended as a nettle risotto, you can switch out the nettles for spinach or any other delicate-leafed green (orache, chard or herbs work well).

You can use vegetable, seafood stock or chicken stock if you must, although the flavor will not be the same.

One thing you cannot switch out, however, is the rice. You absolutely must use short-grain rice to make risotto — long grain rice lacks the particular starch that sloughs off with constant stirring, and without it, you have no creaminess. No creaminess, no risotto.

You can buy risotto rice in many supermarkets. Arborio is the most common. I prefer carnaroli rice here, which some markets have, but which is easily available online.

Looking for other ways to cook nettles? I have an overview of how to harvest and cook nettles here, and lots of fun recipes, such as nettle pasta, green spaetzli, and my favorite, Italian dumplings made with greens ranging from spinach to nettles to lambsquarters.

And nettle risotto isn’t the only risotto I have on this site. I basically have one for everything, from shrimp risotto to morel mushroom risotto to even squid ink risotto – you can find more than a dozen risotto recipes here.

A bowl of nettle risotto.
Print Recipe
4.60 from 5 votes

Nettle Risotto

You can use any spring green in this recipe. Nettles are the greenest, and most nutritious, but dandelions, spinach, curly dock, chard, amaranth or lamb’s quarters are all good choices. 
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time35 mins
Total Time55 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 287kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 1 cup risotto rice
  • 1 cup cooked, drained nettles or spinach (see below)
  • 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2-3 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 4 cups stock (your choice)
  • Salt

Instructions

  • Depending what variety your nettles are, you will need four or five big tong-fulls of fresh nettles to get your cup of cooked nettles. Regular nettles (Urtica dioica) are more substantial than their daintier cousins, the dwarf nettle (Urtica urens) and retain more of their volume when cooked. I say tong-fulls because you do not want to pick up fresh nettles, as they will sting you. Thus the name. Get a large pot of water boiling and add a handful of salt.
  • Grab the nettles with tongs and put them into the boiling water. Stir around and boil for 2 minutes for dwarf nettles, about 4 minutes for regular nettles. Fish them out with a skimmer or the tongs and immediately dump them into a big bowl with ice water in it. Once they are cool, put them in a colander to drain. Get a cloth towel, like a tea towel, and put the nettles in it. Wrap one end of the towel one way, then the other end of the towel the other (like a candy wrapper) and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
  • Chop the nettles finely — don’t use a food processor or you will get a mush. The finer you chop, the smoother your risotto will be. Remove any stray stems.
  • To make the risotto, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucier or heavy pot set on medium-high. Wait until the butter stops frothing and add the shallot. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add the garlic and the rice and stir to combine. Stirring constantly, cooked everything for a minute or so or until all the rice is well coated with butter.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of salt and your first cup of stock and turn the heat to high. Stir it into the rice. When it starts boiling strongly, turn the heat down to medium and stir often, at least every minute or so, until the rice absorbs the stock. Add a second cup of stock.
  • When the second cup is absorbed, add the nettles and the third cup of stock. Stir well to combine. Keep stirring constantly now to develop the creaminess in the risotto, and to distribute the nettles evenly. Let the stock absorb.
  • Taste the risotto, and add salt if needed. It may need that fourth cup of stock, as you want the dish to be loose, not firm. At any rate, you will need at least a little more stock to loosen the risotto for the cheese and the final tablespoon of butter, which you add now. Stir everything well and let the butter and cheese melt in the risotto for about 4 or 5 minutes, still stirring often. Serve at once.

Notes

If you have leftovers, you can add the risotto to a beaten egg, form into patties or balls, roll in breadcrumbs and fry in olive oil. It is delicious.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 586mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 622IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 157mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @HuntGatherCook or tag #HankShaw!

Thanks for Sharing This!

16 shares

Filed Under: American Recipes, Appetizers and Snacks, Foraging, Italian, Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi, Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

More about Hank...

Featured Recipes

Closeup of sliced, smoked venison backstrap on a platter
Venison 101: How to Cook Venison
pickled pike recipe
Pickled Pike
Slices of smoked venison roast on a cutting board.
Smoked Venison Roast
Conejo en adobo on a plate
Conejo en Adobo
A platter of fried walleye with lemon.
Fried Walleye
A plate of pine nut cookies.
Pine Nut Cookies

As Seen In

As seen on CNN, New York Times, Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Splendid Table

Never Miss a Recipe

Receive recipes direct to your inbox.

 

 

Back to Top
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Stories
  • Wild Game
  • Charcuterie
  • Fish
  • Gathering
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2023 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved.

Site built by: Site by Status Forward

16 shares
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Save
  • Email
16 shares