Nettle and Mint Pesto with Pumpkin Seeds (Vegan)

Today I’m gonna share with you the recipe of nettle and mint pesto, and also some tips how to build up a flavor of your sauce without adding too much oil or salt.

Thanks to unfriendly cool weather, I was still able to forage some quite young stinging nettle. It was not enough to make anything with nettle alone, so I added handful of fresh mint leaves, a bit of a lemon, pumpkin seeds and, somehow, created the most refreshing, light and flavorful pesto sauce!

If you’re making this recipe when nettle is in season, feel free to increase the amount to 2 cups. Also you can toast your pumpkin seeds for more like a nutty, toasted flavor.

The addition of lemon zest makes this nettle pesto extra refreshing and flavorful, and nutritional yeast is responsible for a “cheesy” part. I still used a touch of olive oil, just because it prevents pasta from sticking. But I always prefer whole food fat sources and try to minimize my oil intake where it is possible. Plus, classic pesto is just too heavy and greasy for my liking. Even though I used to adore it in a past, now, when I eat much “cleaner”, I no longer crave such foods.

Rinse stinging nettle and place it into a bowl. Pour boiling water and let it steep for a minute. Drain the nettle and then transfer it into a food processor.

Add the rest of ingredients and pulse couple of times until the pesto looks like a paste but also has some texture. If you like you can add water or olive oil to help things going.

Mix with favorite freshly cooked pasta and enjoy!