Nettle Risotto Recipe

I was getting bored of the usual rice or potatoes as a side to out dinners, so I thought I'd try making a risotto with some of the nettle I'd harvested in our yard. And honestly, it was surprisingly tasty!

With the bright flavours of lemon and savoury herbs, with some extra creaminess from the feta cheese, this risotto was a tasty side to our roast chicken last week.

Feel free to switch out the nettle for any other leafy greens. Lambs quarter or spinach would work quite well in this recipe.

5 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
2 cups rardorio rice 
1/2 cup white wine (white wine is classically used in risotto, however I am sober so I left this out and added 2 tsp of rice wine vinegar to add the depth of flavour)
5 cups broth (chicken or veggie)
3/4 cup feta cheese
2 cups stinging nettle leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon 
Salt and pepper to taste 

1. Prepare stinging nettle: wash leaves, add to pot of boiling water and cook for 2 mins. Strain leaves immediately and run under cold water to keep from cooking. Chop nettle leaves and set aside
2. Heat broth and keep warm while preparing the rice
3. Melt butter, saute onions until translucent. Add garlice, herbs and salt and pepper and saute for 2-3 mins
4. Add rice, toss to coat and cook until grains are translucent, 2-3 minutes 
5. Add white wine or vinegar if using and simmer for 2-3 more minutes
6. Begin adding broth, 1 ladel full at a time. Stir, wait until the rice has absorbed the broth, then add another ladel. Repeat until all but 1/2 of the 5 cups has been added
7. Stir in stinging nettle leaves and feta cheese
8. Add last 1/2 cup of broth 
9. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed 
10. Serve immediately

Enjoy!