Love home made pasta? This stinging nettle ravioli is the perfect addition to your recipe book!

This recipe is simple and you can gather the filling in your own garden! In fact, I used the nettle I gather on my terrace to make this stinging nettle ravioli. I have a lot of planters and once nettle finds its way, you can hardly get rid of it. But that’s not a bad thing actually.

Nettle is a great herb to use in many recipes,  you can dry the leaves and make tea out of it, you can boil or stir fry and eat it as side dish or you can use it to make this amazing ravioli recipe.

You can make these ravioli in large batches and then freeze them. Once you have done preparing all the ravioli, lay them on to a board and put them in the freezer for an hour. As soon as they’re a bit hard to the touch transfer them into a ziplock back and again in the freezer. They’ll keep for months, and you’ll only need to cook them  directly from the freezer in semi boiling water (not too hot to avoid breaking and spilling) .

Stinging nettle health facts

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) has a very long history as a medicinal plant, it has been used of centuries to treat joint pain or as a diuretic. Even though it’s counter intuitive (touching the leaves is painful) the compounds found in nettle can actually decrease the pain in the body.

Among the many health benefits of stinging nettle we find a high content of antioxidants that seems to be useful to relieve arthritis symptoms. It’s also good for the prostate health, moreover a compound called UD-1 appear to be helpful in controlling blood sugar.
Nettle is also rich in calcium, linoleum acid, quercitin, iron, potassium and magnesium, along with fibers.

Tips and tricks for collecting stinging nettles

If you want to use your own stinging nettle (or you know a place to collect some) you need to know that to collect some nettle you want to use very thick gloves. The micro spines on the surface of the nettle are very stinging in fact (hence the name). However after washing it the stinging effect disappear.

Beware also of the stem. When the plant is big the spines on the stem are ever worse.
If you have a garden where you do not use any chemicals, chances are you will find some nettles. What’s better than a free healthy green that can help your health?

Stinging nettle ravioli: vegan alternative

If you do not want to use ricotta for the filling you can swap it for boiled potatoes. When making home made pasta, use water instead of eggs to have a vegan version.

Ingredients to make stinging nettle ravioli

• 300gr of fresh ricotta (or boiled potatoes)
• 300gr of fresh home made pasta
• 200gr of stinging nettle leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

Step 1
Clean the nettle leaves under running water, then blanch for 2 minutes in boiling water. Chop it very finely and add the ricotta salt and pepper, then keep aside. You can also put all the ingredients into a blender jar or a mixer and get a paste out of it.

Step 2

Roll out the pasta on a board to 2mm thickness. Divide the pasta sheet in half. Put a spoonful of filling at around 5cm from each other. Cover with the other half of the pasta and seal with a fork or a cutter. Repeat the process until all the ingredients are used. You can also use a ravioli mold, this is easier and quicker.

Step 3
Boil the ravioli until they float then cook for a minute or two and they’re done. Season with your sauce of choice. You can use butter and sage, butter and thyme, tomato sauce a light pesto, your taste is the limit!