Carrot Top Tips
First off, this has absolutely nothing to do with the comedian. It is all about those lovely, feathery greens attached to your carrots. Sure, they look nice, but I bet a lot of you are throwing them away, unsure of whether they are even edible and/or what to do with them.
Hmmmm you say, I've heard carrot tops may be poisonous. I would certainly not be writing this post right now if that were in fact true. However, any edible plant can produce an allergic reaction - particularly in sensitive individuals and I think it's wise to be cautious whenever you are introducing a new food to your diet. Carrot greens have been tagged as "possibly allergenic" so if you haven't tried them before, just test the waters first before you power down the whole bunch.
There are many nutritional benefits to both carrots and the greens, potassium, Vitamin K, to mention a few in the greens, but without further ado, I present The Culinary Fairy's Top 10 Ways to Use Carrot Tops:
10. Compost them. When all else fails, give back to mother earth.
9. Make a horse or rabbit happy. Horses in particular really love the carrot tops.
8, Juice them with other greens.
7. If you don't have any pets that will eat them, try donating them to an ASPCA shelter that handles rabbits and other nibblers, you'll make an animal without a home happy and you'll probably feel almost as good as if you had ate them yourself!
6. Make a green smoothie (see recipe below)
5. Make a nutritious vegetable stock in your crock pot: to 4-6 cups of water add carrot greens, an onion and any other "tops" from beets, kohlrabi, etc. Cook on low heat overnight, strain and use to make soup or freeze it for later.
4. Make a pesto (see recipe below)
3. Chop them up and add to any soup or stew.
2. A twist on garlic butter: 1 stick of softened butter, 4 large garlic cloves, 3 T. chopped carrot greens
1. The new parsley: Carrot Greens!!
Carrot, Orange & Mango Smoothie with Carrot Greens
2 large handfuls of chopped carrot greens
1 bunch of round carrots juiced with 1 1/2 large oranges
1 cup of frozen mango
1 tsp vanilla
Combine greens with juice and blend until smooth. Add frozen mango and vanilla and blend until thick.
Carrot Greens Pesto
1 bunch of carrot greens, rinsed and dried, and chopped
1-2 large garlic cloves
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
dash of salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor, puree the nuts, carrot greens, lemon juice and garlic. Add parmesan and salt and pepper. Gradually add olive oil in a stream, until all oil is added and pesto is smooth. Serve pesto with pasta, baked potatoes or as a topping for grilled vegetables.
Hmmmm you say, I've heard carrot tops may be poisonous. I would certainly not be writing this post right now if that were in fact true. However, any edible plant can produce an allergic reaction - particularly in sensitive individuals and I think it's wise to be cautious whenever you are introducing a new food to your diet. Carrot greens have been tagged as "possibly allergenic" so if you haven't tried them before, just test the waters first before you power down the whole bunch.
There are many nutritional benefits to both carrots and the greens, potassium, Vitamin K, to mention a few in the greens, but without further ado, I present The Culinary Fairy's Top 10 Ways to Use Carrot Tops:
10. Compost them. When all else fails, give back to mother earth.
9. Make a horse or rabbit happy. Horses in particular really love the carrot tops.
8, Juice them with other greens.
7. If you don't have any pets that will eat them, try donating them to an ASPCA shelter that handles rabbits and other nibblers, you'll make an animal without a home happy and you'll probably feel almost as good as if you had ate them yourself!
6. Make a green smoothie (see recipe below)
5. Make a nutritious vegetable stock in your crock pot: to 4-6 cups of water add carrot greens, an onion and any other "tops" from beets, kohlrabi, etc. Cook on low heat overnight, strain and use to make soup or freeze it for later.
4. Make a pesto (see recipe below)
3. Chop them up and add to any soup or stew.
2. A twist on garlic butter: 1 stick of softened butter, 4 large garlic cloves, 3 T. chopped carrot greens
1. The new parsley: Carrot Greens!!
Carrot, Orange & Mango Smoothie with Carrot Greens
2 large handfuls of chopped carrot greens
1 bunch of round carrots juiced with 1 1/2 large oranges
1 cup of frozen mango
1 tsp vanilla
Combine greens with juice and blend until smooth. Add frozen mango and vanilla and blend until thick.
Carrot Greens Pesto
1 bunch of carrot greens, rinsed and dried, and chopped
1-2 large garlic cloves
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
dash of salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor, puree the nuts, carrot greens, lemon juice and garlic. Add parmesan and salt and pepper. Gradually add olive oil in a stream, until all oil is added and pesto is smooth. Serve pesto with pasta, baked potatoes or as a topping for grilled vegetables.
Posted by CSACulinaryFairy at 06-21-2011 
Categories: Vegan, Vegetarian, Green Ideas, Tips, Drink Recipes, Soup Recipes, Side Dish Recipes
Tags: Carrots Carrot Greens
Categories: Vegan, Vegetarian, Green Ideas, Tips, Drink Recipes, Soup Recipes, Side Dish Recipes
Tags: Carrots Carrot Greens
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