Just Picked: Stinging nettles make great soup and pesto

This week’s Just Picked feature puts the spotlight on stinging nettles.

Find the recipe for Wandering Table’s Nettle Pesto in The Spokesman-Review’s Food section on Wednesday. There’s also one for a delicately flavored nettle soup. Nettle tea is easy to make, too. It basically entails boiling then straining fresh nettle leaves, and adding honey or sugar and milk to taste.

Just be careful when handling the leaves. Their nearly invisible fine hairs will produce a painful stinging sensation and red, irritated skin.

Meantime, here’s the dough recipe Wandering Table uses for its Nettle Flatbread. The restaurant is located in Spokane’s Kendall Yards.

Dough for Nettle Flatbread

From Wandering Table in Spokane
2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
2 cups warm water
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, for sprinkling

Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in an additional 2 cups flour; continue adding flour (up to ½ cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until dough comes away from bowl but is still sticky.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead with lightly floured hands. Start by slapping the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself (use a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape dough from surface). Repeat until it’s easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading normally until dough is smooth, elastic, and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl or bag; turn to coat. Let sit overnight.
Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, 2 hours. Press it with your finger to see if it’s done; an indent should remain.
Meanwhile, scrape dough out of the bowl onto floured surface, and cut it into 6 pieces. Shape into balls. Dust with flour, and cover with plastic. Let rest, 20 to 30 minutes, allowing dough to relax and almost double.
Holding top edge of 1 dough ball in both hands, let bottom edge touch work surface. Carefully move hands around edge to form a circle. Transfer dough to a lightly floured pizza peel. Press out edges using your fingers. Jerk peel; if dough sticks, lift, and dust more flour underneath Spread pesto onto flatbread and bake at 500 degrees until golden brown. Remove from oven and add a little shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Top with nettle pesto. (Find the recipe in Wednesday’s Spokesman-Review Food section.)