DOC

Menu Trend: Nettles

The Trend: Move over spinach and kale… there’s a new green in town.Freshly-foraged wild nettles are popping up on menus throughout Portland in everything from pasta and pizza to soup and pesto.

What they are: Though the term “nettle” could refer to any of 30 flowering plants of the Urticaceaefamily, the most-used variety for culinary purposes is the stinging nettle. The vitamin-packed plant is native to North America, and thrives here in the soggy Pacific Northwest where the greens are harvested in the wild.

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SPRING FLAVORS AT DOC

Spring has officially arrived and with it the reopening of our favorite farmer’s markets! This week’s menu offers plenty of new spring dishes. Antipasti include octopus, slow cooked with paprika & tomato, with beluga lentils and caponta – it’s wonderfully tender with just the right amount of spice. Try Gathering Together Farm’s mixed salad greens served with house-made pickles (squash & fennel this week) and topped with shaved Pantaleo goat cheese. Or a simple spring salad of mixed chicories with blood orange & shaved fennel. We’re also thrilled to have wild nettles back in season! This week’s risotto features wild nettle pesto with hazelnuts and Belper Knolle cheese. And our cavatelli is the ever-popular pork sugo, topped with an extra-dry, Italian style cheese from Jacob’s Creamery. Secondi start off with flatiron steak, served with roasted potatoes, black trumpet mushrooms (while they last!), braised greens & crème fraiche. Steelhead is still going strong from our good friend Sonny Davis, paired with wild ramps, one of our favorite spring vegetables, and Viridian’s shelled beans, kale raab & broth. Finally, our vegetarian entrée this week is a frittata cooked with Tahonohono heirloom spring onions and served with turnips, broccoli, hedgehog mushrooms & farro. Did we mention three new desserts?