More of early spring: nettles

One of the most fun parts about having made the transition, years ago, to eating seasonally, was playing with new foods that I had never eaten before, let alone HEARD of. In one of my favorite fairy tales (I think it was the original Rumpelstilsken), a princess desires a salad of nettles. I remember that, because I kept on thinking "that's an odd salad" It still is because nettles, well, have nettles on them. They sting. I can't imagine eating them raw, but I guess you can. Years later, someone told me it was a mistranslation for something called "rampion" and in fact, Rapunzel was named after rampion. You can find information on rampion on the web. I'm going to talk about nettles.

When you see these, they look like a wild plant. They're dark. Past a medium green, closer to black. And yes, they sting. Pick them up with a plastic bag. (The stinging part disappears when you cook them). And plan on a bunch per person, for a small to reasonable sized portion. You can also mix them with other greens. When they are finished cooking, they have a somewhat odd "mouthfeel," sort of like velvet or corduroy, so a big portion isn't in order.

And how do you cook them generally? Well, like so many other greens, what you do is look for the place there the stem moves from tough to tender, and cut that stem away. It's inedible. Then toss the greens into a big pot of salted, boiling water, and cook them for about five minutes. Like with fiddle heads, your water will turn black (I think that for nettles, it's the pigment leaching out, but I don't know this for certain). Drain them, and let them cool.

The fun begins! One of my favorite, albeit fattening ways of eating nettles, is to chop the cooled stuff, and toss it into a nob of butter, with some cream. Guy likes it this way too. But... my favorite way, by way of Chez Panisse, is on a pizza.

Chez Panisse always serves a pizza on their menu, and it changes. But somehow, it seems that I'm always there when they're making a nettles and pecorino pizza. So I have it occasionally, but I make it at home more. I cannot say with any certainty that this is how CP makes their pizza, but it is how I make mine. It's a bit time consuming, but wouldn't you l ike to impress your friends with a homemade pizza?

I think I've outlined the dough before, but in case I haven't, here we go. You need 1.5 teaspoons of yeast (I have written about the importance of making sure it's still viable), which you dissolve in just about 2/3 cup of water. Hold back about a third cup more. Add a half teaspoon of sugar. Then add 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1.5 cups of flour - all purpose is fine, as well as a couple of tablespoons of cornmeal, if you have it. Then add a half teaspoon of salt. Mix this all up in a bowl. If it isn't coming together into a nice, soft, mass, add the rest of the water. Move the ball of dough to a surface and knead it for about five minutes more. Then put it aside to rest for an hour and a half. During that time period, set your oven to 500.

You need a good flat surface for your pi zza. I have a pizza stone, but not everyone does. If you don't, then use the back of a baking sheet. It will make it easier to move if you put a sheet of parchment paper on the bake of the sheet, and then spread out your dough on that.

Don't be afraid to work the dough. It's not that fragile. Push it, to however thin you like it. There is no right or wrong about the thickness of your pizza dough. Where there IS right or wrong, is on the topping.

Pizza is about the dough. The topping is there for flavor, but that's not what the dish is about. So when you start laying down your tomato sauce, be stingy. Four tablespoons of a good, homemade sauce, spread thinly on the dough, should be plenty. If you want a little more, add more, but don't go over 6 tablespoons, please.

For the nettles pizza, take the nettles you've cooked, as above. Squeeze out the water, chop them fine, and then toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil. Spread them over the sauce (you've done this to keep the greens from burning too badly). Finally, spread about half a cup of a strong tasting cheese on top. You can use pecorino, grated, but you don't have to. I've done this with hard goat cheeses, and sheeps cheeses. Mozzarella is just a little too sweet and mild for the greens here. Parmesan works, too, as does ricotta salata.

Pop the thing into the oven, and you'll be ready in about fifteen minutes, maybe 12 if your oven is hot and fast (QUIET OUT THERE). When you take it out of the oven, you may want to sprinkle a little more cheese on it (because the cooked cheese, and the fresh cheese, will add layers of complexity). Let it cool for, say five or ten minutes on a cooling rack, and then slice into it and eat it.

This sounds like a lot of work. It's not. And, when I make dough for one pizza, I always make it for at least two, and sometimes as many as four. The dough freezes beautifully, and all you have to do is multiply the ingredients above for the number of pizzas you want. I mix the dough in the morning, before I go to work, and then play with it at night when we're home and want dinner.

Try it. Play with some of the other spring greens available too. Dandelion and pancetta pizza is sounding pretty good to me.