Outside in

Beetroot gnocchi with nettle pesto (pictured above)

Nettle pesto
Makes about 600ml
1 large bunch stinging nettle leaves, to yield about 75g leaves
60g almonds, roasted
150ml olive oil
½ garlic clove, crushed 
60g Parmesan cheese, grated 
1 tsp lemon juice, to taste 
salt and pepper

Beetroot gnocchi
500g potatoes
150g beetroot, boiled until soft 
1 egg, whisked
200g plain flour
2 tbsp oil

This pesto version uses nettle, which grows in abundance along riverbeds and in backyards towards the end of autumn, when the temperatures drop and rain has been falling. Although it’s usually picked out and discarded as a weed, blanching nettles in boiling water will remove the sting, and it can be used in cooking in the same way as spinach. The taste is somewhere between spinach, broccoli and cucumber, and it’s rich in iron and calcium. As a substitute in this dish, rocket and mizuna would work well as they bring a little pepperiness to the sweetness of the beetroot gnocchi.

Nettle pesto
Using gloves, pick off the leaves from the nettle stems, discarding stems. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add leaves for about 30 seconds, then drain and refresh under cold water.

Squeeze the leaves dry and then roughly chop. Combine chopped nettle leaves, almonds, olive oil garlic and Parmesan in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Beetroot gnocchi
Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F. Roast potatoes in their skins for about 1 hour, until soft enough that a fork can be easily inserted. Allow to cool just enough to be able to handle, then peel and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Pass the potatoes through a ricer or mash with a potato masher until smooth.

Cover the beetroot with water in a small saucepan. Boil until it is soft enough that a skewer inserted goes through easily. Once cool enough to handle, top, tail and peel the beetroot, then chop roughly.

In a food processor or blender, blend beetroot to a fine purée.

Add beetroot purée and whisked egg to the potato and mix together with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.

Add flour and bring the mixture together into a ball.

Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently for 1-2 minutes, until the dough is smooth and evenly coloured.

Divide the dough into six portions. Roll each portion out into logs about 2cm wide. If you’re using a gnocchi board to shape the gnocchi, cut into pieces about 1.5cm wide, then roll along board to shape. If you’re using a fork to shape the gnocchi, cut the pieces a little thicker (about 2cm), then press with a fork to indent. Scoring the gnocchi is not essential but allows them to hold sauce better.

Prepare a large tray dusted with flour or lightly oiled. Heat a large saucepan of water. Add the gnocchi in batches, without overcrowding the pan. The gnocchi are cooked once they rise to the surface, after about 2 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi and reserve the cooking water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium high heat. Add the gnocchi and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan so that the gnocchi crisps up on all sides. Add pesto and a few tablespoons of the cooking water and cook until the pesto has warmed through, turning gently when needed.

Divide between plates to serve.

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Blueberry and spelt galette

Serves 6


Spelt shortcrust
250g spelt flour 
2 tbsp raw caster sugar 
½ tsp salt 
125ml sunflower oil 
2 tbsp iced water

Blueberry filling
300g fresh or frozen blueberries 
1 tbsp arrowroot powder, or cornflour 
1 tsp lemon zest 
2 tsp lemon juice

Using oil in place of butter makes it easier and quicker to bring the pastry together in the humidity and heat of summer, when pastry making can be a sticky situation.

Spelt shortcrust
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. Using a fork, mix the flour mixture into the oil until it is well combined and has the texture of small peas.

Sprinkle over the water and mix into the dough with your fingertips. It should be moist enough to just bring together – the drier the pastry the flakier the crust.

Using your fingers, bring the dough into a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface, flatten dough with a rolling pin and shape into a disk. Wrap in cling film, then transfer to a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Blueberry filling
While your pastry is chilling, combine blueberries, arrowroot, lemon zest and juice in a mixing bowl and toss thoroughly and gently with your fingers to combine.

To assemble the galette
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove the pastry from the cling film and sandwich between 2 sheets of baking paper. Roll until 3mm thick (about 34cm in diameter), then remove and discard the top layer of baking paper.

Gently pick up baking sheet topped with the pastry and transfer to a 32cm-wide baking tray. Top with the blueberry filling, leaving a 3cm gap around the edge. Gently fold over the pastry. It doesn’t matter if it cracks a little, because the beauty of this tart is that it is characteristically ‘rustic’ looking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Remove from the oven and leave for 3 minutes to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Give the blueberries a little shuffle on top to make sure they are all coated in the syrup.

Serve warm or cold.

365 Nature: Projects To Connect You With Nature Every Day, by Anna Carlile, with photography by Anna Carlile, is published by Hardie Grant Publishing, priced £25.