Baked eggs, their yolks all yellow and jammy, make a beautiful and simple breakfast. In the springtime when both local eggs and young, tender stinging nettle leaves are available, I like to make this dish. It’s easy, nutrient-dense, and speaks to the season. Bright green nettle-pumpkin seed pesto, spiked with garlic and jalapeño, offers a pleasant contrast to the creaminess of baked eggs.
While fresh stinging nettle can irritate the skin, don’t let that put you off from making this raw nettle pesto. Remember to handle the herb with care, wearing long sleeves and thick gloves when touching the leaves. Like both drying and cooking, pureeing the plant’s leaves neutralizes the compounds that give them their sting, so you can still enjoy stinging nettle fresh in this recipe, where its taste is marvelously green.
