Pages

Friday 8 November 2013

the cutest little carrots, and edible carrot greens

Simon's housemate has a little garden in the balcony, which is sort of a learning process in itself with travails and triumphs.

Recently, there was some excitement as the first carrots of spring were harvested. They were small, skinny, but extremely full of crunch and flavour, with an almost spicy zing as we chomped into them.

Amongst them, we found some incredibly adorable, absolutely tiny carrots. I love their irregular shapes, too.

The cutest little carrots.

There was also an abundance of carrot tops, or carrot greens. The below picture shows only a fraction of the whole compilation.

The lopped-off carrot tops.

This then ignited a discussion as to whether carrot greens are edible. I had a feeling they were, and I thought I might even have seen recipes for carrot greens before, but just to be sure, I confirmed this with the good ol' internet.

I found this nicely written post by Garden Betty, which pretty much says, go forth and eat those carrot tops! Barring any unusual allergies or intolerances, they are fine for consumption.

I chewed on some raw carrot greens. They had a rough texture that encourages a good jaw workout, and they actually do taste quite similar to carrots - but in lieu of the bright sweetness, there is an earthy, herbaceous hint of bitterness instead.

Smoothie with carrot greens.

I can imagine carrot greens being quite versatile - so far I have added them into smoothies, soups, stews, congee, and stir-fries. These greens certainly have attitude, and a lot to offer.

Have you had carrot greens before? How do you like them?

A very carroty congee with carrots and carrot greens.

20 comments:

  1. I have never had carrot greens! Those little skinny ones are so cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't they just! I'd love to see your take on carrot greens one day. :)

      Delete
  2. Can't say that I have ever eaten them, but you have inspired me to add carrots to our list of things to try growing on the patio here!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh interesting. I've never eaten them, but we certainly get far more green than carrot here, so far, so it is tempting to try!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes! We thinned the carrots at our community garden and the young greens are a little more tender and less aggressively bitter. They freeze really well for adding to cooked dishes in place of parsley, like fitters or soups.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good tip on the young greens being easier to eat. And yeah, they do seem to freeze quite well, I keep some in the freezer too and have had no issues using them.

      Delete
  5. I also think that discard the carrot greens is a waste of food. Use them in a smoothie is a good idea. For detox maybe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, those carrot tops certainly work well in green smoothies. :D

      Delete
  6. i have never had carrot greens either. how wasteful we have been, if we can eat them! i can imagine them in a stry fry or even in a vegie slice with other greens like silverbeet.
    you're a trailblazer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never too late to start eating your carrot greens! Would love to see what you cook with them next time around. :)

      Delete
  7. I haven't ever had the greens either but they seem to be all we're able to grow, what little carrot we have ended up with the past couple of years has been stumpy and woody :(, I'm glad to see the green has some use!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, at least now you know that you can eat the greens for consolation!

      Delete
  8. I love carrots! This is such a wonderful season for them too, they are everywhere!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't think I've ever eaten carrot tops before, but now I know! It's great to be able to use things that might otherwise end up as trash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed. Now that I know, I'm more inclined to buy those baby / Dutch carrots with their tops still on, it's like getting two vegetables at once. ;)

      Delete
  10. I spent a day with Elena Arzak recently - of Arzak restaurant in San Sebastian (http://bit.ly/1hlI652) - and when we were shopping in the market together she bought carrot fronds. Back at the restaurant they doused in a light tempura batter and fried - absolutely delicious - though your smoothie sounds much healthier. Good luck with the balcony gardening. The weather is playing havoc with my seedlings - though they're benefitting from all this Sydney rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love the idea of tempura carrot fronds! Sounds incredibly delicious, indeed. Thanks for sharing your experience. x

      Delete

Related Posts with Thumbnails