July 31, 2018

Carrot top hummus

Carrot tops. Yes, it’s a thing. They’re the bushy greens that grow from the tops of, you guessed it, carrots! And you better believe they’re edible and just as flavorful that those orange roots themselves! But what do you do with carrot tops? Make hummus! I’ve got an incredible recipe for carrot top hummus that you’ll want to try!

You don’t commonly see carrot top greens prepared in any sort of fashion at restaurants, nor do you often see carrots at the grocery store with a full head of green hair. But just like any other root vegetable, the root that grows beneath the earth’s soil does indeed sprout some sort of plant out its top. That’s how most root vegetables are harvested; they’re ready for eating when their sprouted tops are in full bloom. And many of these root vegetable tops are both nutritious and delicious, to steal a line from the General Mills leprechaun.

Carrot tops, while, admittedly, not the most versatile vegetable, can be sautéed, just like beet greens, but you can also use them as a base for pesto or hummus. The leaves look similar to flat leaf parsley, but they have a much sweeter, pleasantly grassy taste.

The fabulous purple carrots we received in last week’s CSA share arrived with something equivalent of a small tree sprouting from the tops. With an abundance of greens like this, my first thought was to blend them up with garlic and herbs. I decided to take a twist on a traditional hummus recipe using chickpeas, and instead opted for nuts as the rich, creamy component of the dip. I chose to use pistachios. I absolutely adore pistachios! With a wonderful roasted, nutty, vanilla-like sweetness, these beautiful green powerhouses are rich in antioxidants and heart healthy fats, not to mention protein and fiber as well. If you cannot find pistachios, you can substitute raw almonds, cashews, or even walnuts.

I actually made two batches, one with pistachios and one with raw almonds. The pistachio version was my “test-kitchen” batch for my cooking show at work. It was absolutely fantastic! I had my dad taste it before telling him what the ingredients were, challenging him to guess the “secret ingredient.” He devoured it, and even asked for some to take to a client! Then my brother and his girlfriend stopped by, so asked them to try my hummus, again not telling them what was in it so as to not give them a chance for any preconceived biases. “It’s actually really good!,” were my brother’s words, verbatim! Score! His girlfriend loved it too! Anytime I can “trick” my brother into eating something unusual and healthy, it’s a good day. I saved some for Hubs to try when he got back from his business trip and he loved it too!

The second batch I made was for the actual cooking video we shot at work the next day. (You can check out our video here!) I honestly only made this batch with almonds because I could not find more shelled pistachios at the grocery store and I did not have time to sit there and hand-crack two cups worth of pistachio nut meats. So, almonds it was! And this batch with the almonds turned out just as delicious!!

I used all the other same ingredients in both batches. Instead of tahini, which is traditionally used in chickpea hummus, I used good old, organic extra virgin olive oil. And my herb of choice: mountain mint. I had never heard of mountain mint before opening this week’s CSA share. Mountain mint has much woodsier stalks and smaller, more narrow leaves than regular mint. It also has a soft, delicate mint flavor, slightly less potent than ordinary mint, but still flavorful nonetheless. Of course, you can’t make hummus without garlic, so I used the super juicy, fresh garlic that also came in this week’s CSA share. On a garlic scale, I prefer my hummus to be on the moderately pungent side, so I used about 3 cloves of garlic. You can always adjust the amount of garlic to your taste. My last two final touches to the hummus were fresh lemon zest and juice and lots of salt. And there you have it, one vibrant, green carrot top hummus!

You can interchange any of these ingredients to accommodate what you have on hand and to satisfy your palate; what a beautiful canvas for kitchen creativity hummus is! I tossed a few tablespoons of the green goodness with zoodles and meaty albacore tuna. So fantastically rich, creamy, and hearty. You could even spread this hummus on sandwiches or eat straight out of the bowl with veggies or chips.