Carrot Top Recipe: Mediterranean Couscous
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Oh, hey there! If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve followed Compost and Cava through the years, you know I’m back from an unexplained and extended break.
Whenever you’ve taken on a project of this magnitude, it’s always important to take some time to ensure your work is growing consciously. I love my weird little space on the internet, but I needed a step back to consider how much of my life I really wanted to be public, and also, whether or not the things you’re “supposed” to do to grow a successful blog are things that feel authentic to me. (Godspeed to all you adorable influencers who somehow have a flattering, ethereal picture to post every day, I am literally wearing a dressy shirt I threw on for a Zoom call and my pajama pants I slept in… and it’s 9:15 on a Friday night. Pass the wine.)
While I was taking my time with this process, the apocalypse - ahem, I mean pandemic - erupted. Suddenly, my beloved career as a photographer was utterly obliterated overnight. Not only did I have more time on my hands than I have since my mom did my laundry, but I had zero money coming in for the foreseeable future.
Fortunately, my years invested in moving toward a zero-waste lifestyle have been significantly to my benefit: not only is my house full of reusable items (yay for not fighting to the death over paper towels), not only do I almost never buy things on a whim (yer outta luck with me, Rodan Fields gals), but I’ve spent years urban foraging and learning to rethink my food processes and eliminate food waste. All of this made me so grateful for my work here on Compost and Cava when our lives changed so dramatically overnight.
But enough about that for now. Let’s get down to it:
Cooking with Carrot Tops
Yes, this is a thing! When you throw out the carrot leaves (or hopefully compost them), you’re missing out on tasty food, you’re creating unnecessary food waste, and you’re needlessly wasting money. The leaves are the party on top of the boring root vegetable.
Carrot tops are leafy deliciousness, so let’s talk through how to use them. Firstly, I would definitely shop organic if you’re planning to cook your carrot leaves since the above-ground portion of the carrot is more likely to be exposed to chemicals or pesticides. Secondly, you’ll want to look for the freshest, perkiest greens when you pick out your carrots.
Once you get home, cut snip the leafy portion of your carrot tops and give them a quick soak in cold water. Then give them a thorough shake (I prefer to do this step to my favorite 90’s hits but to each their own), and store them in your crisper until you’re ready to get down to cooking.
So, great, you’re saying. But what do with these things? Do carrot top recipes exist?
Yes, they do. But I’m also going to let you in on a little secret: you can, for the most part, just substitute carrot greens in for parsley in most recipes. Ridiculously easy, I know. You might as well quit reading this post now, but if you’re still looking for a jumping-off point in the wild world of cooking with carrot tops, I’ve got you, you party animal.
This couscous is quick, easy, and pleasing to even picky eaters (looking at you, sweet fiance). You can easily swap veggies, add more or less couscous, throw in extra spices. You do you, boo! Have fun.
Delicious Mediterranean Carrot Top Couscous Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Israeli couscous + chicken or vegetable broth for cooking
⅓ cup sweet onion
½ cup chopped cucumber
½ cup black olives, halved
⅔ - ¾ cup loosely packed carrot tops, finely chopped
½ cup ripe cherry tomatoes
½ cup feta cheese crumbles
Salt and pepper
Dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
Pinch of red pepper
Pinch of black pepper
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
Instructions for Mediterranean Carrot Top Couscous Recipe:
Cook your couscous according to the package instructions, but substitute the water for the vegetable or chicken broth for an extra boost of flavor.
Fluff your cooked couscous with a fork and then stir in the onion, cucumber, olives, carrot tops, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese crumbles.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together, or alternately, throw them all in a small mason jar and shake real hard to a cheesy 90’s one-hit-wonder.
Working in small amounts, pour in your lemon dressing to taste. I added the whole serving because I can never get enough lemon, like, ever, but my fiance assures me there’s such thing as too much lemon. Season with salt and additional pepper as needed. Enjoy!
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Lately, I’ve also been throwing handfuls of carrot greens into soups, salads, and even a really delicious goose egg carbonara recipe I’ve been playing with. Have fun with it, let me know what ideas you cook up!
Next up? Cooking with kale stems! See you soon(ish)!
Xoxo,
Reese
