Heard of nose-to-tail eating?
Well, this is the vegetable version – root-to-leaf!
You have probably worked out by now that I’m a fan of that versatile little number that is known around here as green sauce. The French refer to it as sauce verte. The Italians and Spanish know it as salsa verde. And, the Germans, well – they say grüne soße and eat it over eggs at Easter time.
I’ve posted about green sauces a few time over the last wee while. There was my How to Make Green Sauce lesson. AIP friendly, of course. Then, there was my Best Knock- Their-Socks- Off Salsa Verde, which is more of an AIP reintro’ number with the mustard it contains. And even further back, I did some experimenting in my pre-AIP days with A Simple Sorrel Pesto.
And, if you want to stretch the description to it’s absolute limits, my Dr Seuss Soup is just one big giant bowl of green goodness…
It’s pretty clear I love a good green sauce!
And today, I’m bringing you another one!
It’s all LM’s fault really. At least, in a fairly circuitous way it is…
One of the common refrains I hear about the Autoimmune Protocol is around the cost of eating this way. And, it seems to have been on my radar a bit, lately.
Any-who, I was talking with LM about this on the way to the markets on Saturday and he suggested I write about my experiences.
And, I will. Soon. Because for us, AIP has become a way of life.
But, at it’s heart, eating ‘the AIP way’ is just about real food.
And then, at the markets, I saw these puppies. Rows of gorgeous spring carrots.
It was like they had my name written all over them… So, I picked up a couple of bunches.
You’ve been with me a while. You’ll understand that this is kind of how my little mind works…
Oh! Look at those baby carrots! Aren’t they gorgeous?… Local, seasonal and budget-friendly produce. I have to have some of those… [synapses busy firing away] It would be an even more budget-friendly dish if I used the carrot-tops as well as the actual carrots… I wonder what carrot-top salsa verde would be like…?
And, so this dish was conceived!
In the interests of transparency, I should let you know that when I suggested this to LM, he was dubious, at best. His actual words might have been, “Are you seriously going to make me eat the rabbit-food green-stuff from the top of the carrot?”
But, I gotta’ tell you. Now, he’s a convert. Because, carrot-top salsa verde tastes amazing!
Really, it does.
So much so, that – as weird as it may sound – I had it on my leftover slow cooked lamb and fermented veggies for breakfast this morning.
Who knew carrot-tops could taste so good?
All hail the humble carrot, I say!
But, don’t take my word for it. Why not make some carrot top-salsa verde yourself…?
- 2 bunches baby carrots, preferably organic
- 1 tablespoon happy fat of choice, melted
- Salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ doz anchovies (in olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons capers (drained)
- 3 cups of carrot tops, loosely packed
- 1 cup of flat leaf parsley, loosely packed
- 15 mint leaves
- 1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)
- ⅔ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Heat your oven to 200°C/400°F
- Cut the tops off your carrots and give them a scrub under some running water. Pat dry and pop into a baking dish. Drizzle with melted fat and salt generously.
- Pop into the oven to roast for 20 - 25 minutes until cooked. Turn once during cooking.
- While your carrots are roasting, throw your garlic, anchovies and capers into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until chopped.
- Wash and spin your carrot tops. Remove any woody stalks and roughly chop. Measure out 3 cups. Add these to the food processor.
- Wash and spin your herbs. Add these to the food processor along with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix.
- With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the herb mix until thoroughly combined.
- Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and/or lemon juice as required.
- Serve the carrots and salsa verde hot or at room temperature.
E N J O Y !
This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable
Carrots = my favourite vegetable. Can’t wait to give this one a whirl. Thanks for another delicious recipe.
Anytime, PI 🙂