Stinging Nettle Amaro

Amaro is a botanical infused liqueur used as an apertivo or digestivo, and this one is made with the bright and ultra-green stinging nettle.

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I’ve made quite a few stinging nettle recipes so far; my stinging nettle pesto, as well as this stinging nettle focaccia. And that’s because, while stinging nettle may not be the easiest thing to harvest, it grows like a weed and happens to be incredibly good for you. There’s tons and tons of it growing at my dad’s house upstate. My dad and step-mom Nicole love to take advantage of that abundance by including it in everything from scrambled eggs to stir fries, and of course in this stinging nettle amaro. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to sit in on a little stinging nettle amaro making class that Nicole gave to some members of UCIAF (their local Italian American foundation), and today I’m sharing the recipe (and photos) with you all.

WHAT IS AMARO?

Amaro is an Italian bitter-sweet liqueur made by infusing a neutral spirit with botanicals like herbs, citrus peels and spices. In fact, the word amaro translates to bitter in Italian, but this liqueur is so much more than one-note bitter. Yes, bitterness is a component of amaro’s flavor, but it is also sweet, and can be everything from herbaceous to herbal to spicy. Usually you’ll see amaro served as an apertivo (a before dinner drink) to stimulate the appetite, or digestivo (an after dinner drink) to help with digestion.

So what exactly does stinging nettle lend to amaro? Well, if you’ve read some of my past stinging nettle recipes, you’ll know that stinging nettle has a deeply green flavor, almost like spinach on steroids. The botanical flavor of amaro is what really defines it, and stinging nettle is the absolute perfect ingredient to really drive that flavor home. Plus, stinging nettle contains a bevy of health benefits. You can use it to treat everything from arthritis to eczema to anemia, making this amaro is an immunity powerhouse. Every time someone in the family feels sick, we reach for a glass of this amaro at night and feel better by the next morning.

MAKING STINGING NETTLE AMARO

So how exactly do you make stinging nettle amaro? Well, that’s as easy as infusing vodka or grain liquor with stinging nettle in a cool dark place for a few weeks, and then combining it with simple syrup to get a finished product. You’ll need to include a bittering agent in the amaro, to give it that signature bitter flavor. Nicole uses a pinch of gentian root, an herb commonly used in bitters, for this. You can find gentian root in Chinese grocery stores or pharmacies, or on amazon, but you could use a different bittering agent (apricot kernels or hops are common ones) as well.

And since you don’t want your amaro to be one-note green and bitter, you’ll need use other flavors to infuse your amaro too. Nicole chose citrus peels, spices, and more herbs to balance out the flavor of the nettle. But with a super green base like the stinging nettle, no matter the other flavors you choose you’ll still end up with a classically botanical amaro.

All the measurements in my recipe below are super loose. You can use those exact measurements if you’d like, but feel free to make adjustments as you see fit. If you love ginger or orange, add some more of those, or leave out the black peppercorns if you don’t like a spiciness in your liqueur. And you can experiment with your own flavors, adding whatever spices (cinnamon or star anise would be nice) or aromatics you like. But however you choose to flavor it, a cold glass of this stinging nettle amaro will be the perfect nightcap or ending to any meal.