Waste Not, Want Not!- Your compost bin thanks you.
Prepping for my dinner tonight! A dinner of usually discarded tops. Carrot tops, radish tops, fennel tops, kohlrabi tops, and onion tops. Pretty much what I will be having for dinner tonight and every other night this week. Just olive oil and salt and pepper. I throw some onions in there first and caramelize them and then throw the rest of them in and sauté them on medium for about 15 minutes because some of the tops can be a little tough like the fennel. You can flavor them with that whatever you like, cheese, peanuts or cashews, whatever spices strike your fancy
-Lisa Elgerd, CSA Member
Look at them as a “Buy one, get one free” item: buy the root vegetable and you also get a whole bunch of nutritious greens for the same price.
Here are five vegetable tops that are completely edible and delicious in their own right. Don’t pass them up!- TheKitchn.Com
1. Carrot Tops
These beautiful bright-green tops not only help keep the carrots fresh, but they’re downright tasty. Carrot tops are herbal, earthy greens that have a slight taste of carrots and are great to turn into pesto or sautéed as a side dish.
2. Turnip Greens
Like the turnips themselves, these greens can have a bitterness best tempered by cooking with with strong, flavorful ingredients like bacon, onions, stock, or even a little bit of vinegar.
3. Radish Tops
The delicate tops of radishes pack a surprising pungent kick of flavor that’s a bit reminiscent of strong, peppery arugula. And just like arugula, you can eat them raw in a salad or gently wilt them into pasta or other cooked dishes.
4. Beet Greens
Beets are such a great deal when you buy them bunched: you get sweet beets and a whole big bunch of greens all in one! Beet greens have a texture and flavor very similar to Swiss chard, and that’s the best way to think of them. Use them in a stir-fry, braise the greens, or even very thinly slice them raw for a salad!
5. Celery Root Tops
If you’re lucky enough to find celery root with the tops still attached, get them! Although it’s usually grown for its root, celery root tops are not to be tossed aside — the stalks and leaves are stronger in flavor then regular celery but still delicious. Use them anywhere you would celery, even in soups and stocks!
Were you as excited as I was when you opened your box and saw those lovely Mokum carrots? Each time another vegetable makes its first seasonal appearance I am overwhelmed with joy to be reunited with a long lost friend. I look forward to the weeks and sometimes months ahead that we get to have together before the season changes and we live without each other for an extended period of time. This is the true joy that comes with eating seasonally. Yes, you can find carrots 365 days a year at your local grocery, but nothing beats a local and organically grown carrot in season. The best part is the tops. Fresh carrots have sweet tasting green tops. They aren’t bitter like those that travel across the globe. My favorite way to use them is in a pesto sauce.