CSA - Carrot Top Pesto Recipes and info

Greetings!

As promised, below are some Carrot Top Pesto recipes (one blog called Cooking Stoned…I know, I thought the same thing but it’s the guy’s name – Stone  …suggested using with Cheese Tortellini)…

WITH ANYTHING VEGETAL YOU’VE NEVER EATEN BEFORE…START SLOW WITH VERY SMALL PORTIONS, AND SEE HOW YOUR BODY REACTS!!! And even then, don’t go overboard with eating a ton of…anything. Moderation is often the best way to go and we Americans make a BIG mistake thinking if a particular thing is healthy we should be eating a LOT of it all the time (like tons of Kale or Broccoli…a varied diet is pretty much the best and safest way to eat…I’m sure I’ll hear from our resident holistic RD Jessica Posillico if I’m wrong about this ). Read the 2nd longer article if you’re concerned about the issue/possibility of allergic reactions or ill health effects of eating Carrot Tops (apparently Carrot Tops have SIX times the Vitamin C levels that the Carrots do, and are a good source of Potassium and Calcium!).

For the short article on whether eating Carrot tops are toxic or not and whether you should eat them, read this…
http://www.thekitchn.com/breaking-the-myth-of-whether-or-not-you-can-eat-carrot-tops-tips-from-the-kitchn-121158

THIS is a great article on eating Carrot tops…or not (whether they’re toxic or not, nutritional content and health benefits, and more recipes) !  And keep in mind that some of the problems with eating Carrot tops may very well be connected to eating ones that are NOT organic because of the pesticides remaining on them and have nothing to do with the Carrot tops themselves.
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html
And who knew about this Carrot Museum! Lord love the British. 

And if you want some other great general Pesto ideas (you can make Parsley Pesto, Cilantro Pesto and more!), buy Mark Bittman’s book How to Cook Everything (a good edition to ANYONE’S kitchen collection) and read his Pesto section.
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=QzZhicXEZ3cC&source=productsearch&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0930BO1&gl=US&gclid=CIGN6PXe6cgCFY2lNwodjzQEYA&gclsrc=ds

Nice article about “root to shoot” vegetable cooking…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/using-whole-vegetable_n_6528086.html

And for more info about “root to shoot” vegetable cooking in this cookbook…
Root to Stalk Cooking – Tara Duggan
http://www.amazon.com/Root-Stalk-Cooking-Using-Vegetable/dp/1607744120

Top 2…
Diane Morgan’s recipe from her book Roots: The Definitive Compendium (I may have to buy this one) and it’s the most basic with the least ingredients (though you are asked to use those pesky Pine Nuts BUT you could substitute other nuts)…
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/07/173722085/finding-flavor-in-the-castoff-carrot-top

And a vegan Carrot Top Pesto (this looks really good, simple and doesn’t use Pine Nuts)…
http://www.wholygoodness.com/vegan-creamy-carrot-top-pesto/



Another vegan Carrot Top Pesto that touts being gluten-free…
http://foodieunderground.com/carrot-top-pesto/

Yet another vegan Carrot Top Pesto recipe (uses some nutritional yeast)…
http://www.healthygirlcooking.com/vegan-carrot-green-pesto-with-walnuts/

And ANOTHER vegan Carrot Top Pesto recipe (slightly different from all the others!)…
http://www.happycow.net/recipes.php?id=462

Rachel Ray’s Carrot Top Pesto with whole grain Penne…
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/19272_carrot_top_pesto_with_whole_grain_penne/

Carrot Top Pesto from the folks at The Perennial Plate…
https://www.theperennialplate.com/recipes/2011/08/carrot-top-pesto/

Carrot Top Pesto from Scotland…different from the others…
http://larderlove.com/carrot-top-pesto/

Chef April Bloomfield is using Basil in hers…
http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/april-bloomfields-roasted-carrots-with-carrot-top-pesto-and-burrata

Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto…
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/velvety-carrot-soup-pesto

Vegetarian (not vegan) Carrot Top Pesto Pizza (I’ll wait till next year and Tomatoes and Basil are back in season but it looks pretty good)…
http://www.spoonfulofflavor.com/2015/04/29/vegetarian-carrot-top-pesto-pizza/

Enjoy!