I'm already in love. I broke into the box as soon as I woke up this morning (our delivery must happen at the break of dawn) and got to work rinsing, chopping, and refrigerating my fresh produce.
This is one reason why I love living in California. I have freshly picked mandarin oranges in winter. I didn't realize it until recent years, but eating is easy here. It's making my sister, who just moved to Illinois, insanely jealous that I'm receiving fresh organic produce in January.
A bunch of carrots was included in the box, and I realized I had no idea what one usually does with carrot greens. I googled and found that the best use for us would be to make a pesto, so here is my own recipe for carrot green pesto.
Sorry for the lack of pretty pictures; I didn't anticipate posting this until after I made and consumed some of it.
Carrot Greens Pesto
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch carrot greens
- A few sprigs of Italian parsley
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 T. pine nuts
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 T. grated parmesan cheese
- 1 T. vegetable stock (more if pesto seems too dry)
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt + pepper to taste
If desired, separate leaves from stems of carrot greens and parsley and discard stems. I don't mind stems in my pesto, because it's all being ground up anyway, but do as you please. Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until pesto reaches desired consistency.
As with any recipe, tweak to your tastes. Use less olive oil, no cheese and more stock for a lower fat sauce, or omit the cheese to make it vegan.
This sauce will keep for a few days, so refrigerate and use for pasta, sandwiches, or even serve it over fish or chicken.
Serving suggestion:
Instead of using on pasta, spoon pesto over pearled barley and fresh arugula. Garnish with pine nuts or fresh Italian parsley.
My sister lives in Lexington and does something really similar every year. I am sure we've got something like it in Denver. I should try it out. In other news, I got your package yesterday, and it totally made my day. I also had a dream last night that I had to move back to Davis to take some more classes. This is a recurring dream for me. Really weird. I was trying to get dorm things together and was worried about missing my friends in Colorado...
ReplyDeleteYUM! I'm trying (for the third time) to grow some f'ing vegetables... and carrots are on the top of my list! Now I'll have a go-to recipe for the greens! Thanks Meg, it looks and sounds absolutely delicious! I love a good pesto!
ReplyDelete<3 <3 <3
Courtney - I bet there is a good one in Denver, although some of the CSAs are seasonal. Definitely look into it though. That's a crazy dream. School dreams tend to freak me out. I always have dreams where I missed an entire quarter's worth of a class.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Biscuit - Gardening is hard, something I have no talent for. Hope your third time is a charm!