Category Archives: Vegetables – All About

Carrot Top Pesto tried, tasted, and will make again and again

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 Carrot Top Pesto (Seriously Tasty)

I still love Basil Pesto but carrot tops will never be composted in my house again. Basil is hard to grow in Dunedin and costs a mint to buy. Carrot tops come FREE with your carrots and taste just as good as Basil. With our  zero waste policy we do have a problem scraping together enough kitchen scraps for the chickens and quails. ( They do have a few hours of free range a day, when I can guard my veg patch, so they are doing well). Rocket works equally well to replace either basil or carrot tops.

1      Bunch of carrot tops, washed. You can separate the leaves from the stems, but I processed the entire bunch

2       Large  garlic cloves

1/4    Cup grated parmigiano cheese

3/4    Cup of good Extra Virgin olive oil

3       Tablespoons of nuts (pine nuts, cashews, macadamia,  sunflower seeds all work well)

Salt and pepper to taste. (I do not use salt in pesto because the cheese is salty enough for me).

Put everything except the cheese in the food processor or blender and process. Do not make it into slush – keep a fine texture. You may need more olive oil to complete the job. Mix in the cheese and pulse a few more times.

Serve on fresh or toasted bread, dab on to meat, chicken, fish and vegetarian dishes, use as dip for carrots and other fresh veg, salad dressing, and of course as a pasta sauce. 

You will notice that I did not give exact quantities, as these would depend on what you want to achieve – more garlic, basil, cheese, etc.

 

Today’s Harvest

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What I harvested today were Carrots, Beetroot, Celery, Spring Onions and Radish. Of all the delicious foods I am going to cook from this I am most exited about the Carrot Leave Pesto. I have all my life made Basil Pesto with the abundance of Basil that was growing where ever I was, but Dunedin has taught me that you cannot grow Basil unless you have  Greenhouse. So I have to make Pesto from Carrot Leaves, which I have NEVER done before. Should it be edible at all I shall post the recipe within the next few days.

Tomato – Potato – Parsley – all in flower

Who needs Daffodils and Daisies if you can have Tomato, Potato and Parsley

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Not only do they look good, but are healthy and taste fantastic

Garlic from the Garden

As Garlic is one of the favorite ingredients of Italian cooking I try to plant enough to see me through the year. This year, being new in New Zealand and my soil not 100% yet, I have harvested 180 bulbs only, which should hopefully last me about seven to eight months. After harvesting the garlic, leave it in a cool dry place (never in the sun) for a couple of days until the outside skin and loose soil is well dry. Now remove the excess soil carefully by hand and cut the roots without damaging the bulbs. Take a piece of soft rope and plait the garlic leaves and rope, adding more garlic as you go. Try to have the bulbs such that they have enough fresh air ventilation all the time.  When your string is long enough tie the rope around the last leaves, make a loop and hang it in a dark, cool and dry place.

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Cavolo Nero

Cavolo Nero (Black Cabbage) is definitely my favorite cabbage and I plant a lot of it.  It seems to grow well at this time of the year in Dunedin, with the result that I can eat Tagliatelle al Cavolo Nero whenever I want to.

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See the nice Artichoke plant in the back ground.

The recipe is easy and quick and I off coarse eat this with fresh home made egg Tagliatelle. Take one large bunch of Cavolo Nero and blanch it in boiling water for five minutes – put aside and let dry well. In a large pan put one tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and one tablespoon of Butter. Ad four cloves of finely chopped Garlic , one finely chopped red hot chili (or less to taste)  and six anchovy fillets.  Fry and stir well until anchovies are melted – about five minutes. Now coarsely cut and ad the Cavolo Nero and  two Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the pan and fry and stir for another three minutes until the Cavolo is well mixed with the rest and warm. In the mean time you should have put the pasta in the boiling water to be ready at this stage – drain and mix well with the sauce. Serve with lots of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padana cheese. Red wine to compliment.