Carrot Top Pistou

from Gjelina: Cooking from Venice California, by Travis Lett

“Pistou” is just French for “pesto” if you are wondering.  Try this as an accent with roasted carrots.

• 2 Tbsp pepitas (raw hulled pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 cup young carrot tops
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 shallot, minced
• zest of 1 orange
• zest of 1 lemon plus juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

In a small, dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the pepitas just until fragrant and beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, toast the coriander seeds over medium heat just until fragrant and beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat a;nd let cool before grinding to a fine powder  in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

Fill a large bowl with cold water, and swish the carrot tops around to loosen the dirt. Repeat until the tops are clean. Remove from the water and pat dry or spin them dry in a salad spinner. Chip the carrot tops and parsley finely.

In a medium bowl, combine the carrot tops and parsley with the shallot, orange zest, lemon zest, and toasted coriander seeds. Using a microplane grater, grate the garlic into the mixture, and stir in th olive oil. Taste and season with salt. Allow to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Add the Pecorino, toasted pepitas, vinegar, and lemon juice to the carrot-top mixture just before serving.

 

 

Pan-Roasted Baby Carrots, orange, Cilantro, Sesame and Spiced Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches Thumbelina carrots, scrubbed (or regular carrots cut up into baby carrot size)
• 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp thyme leaves
• 1/s cup fresh orange juice
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup spiced yoghurt
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

for the spiced yoghurt:

• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Kosher salt
• 3 Tbsp water, or as needed

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the carrots with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the thyme leaves and 2 Tbsp of the orange juice. Let stand at room temperature.
3. In a small frying pan over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
4. In a roasting pan large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer, heat the remaining 3 Tbs olive oil over high heat. Add the carrots and cook until they begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and cool until the carrots caramelize around the edges but are still a bit firm, 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Return the pan to the stove top over medium heat, and add the wine, remaining 6 Tbsp orange juice, and the stock. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the liquids thicken and begin to coat the carrots, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. For the spiced yogurt, you can either simply salt it, or infuse a cup of yogurt in a food processor with ground coriander, cumin, cilantro, and fresh mint and pulse about 5 seconds until yogurt is tinted green. Add the olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and pulse just until incorporated. Taste and season with salt.
7. Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle the spiced yogurt on top, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds, and garnish with the cilantro. Serve warm.

 

 

Roast pork, carrot chutney & sunflower cream

from The New Nordic, by Simon Bajada

• About 1 pound, 12 ounce small carrots
• 2 onions, unpeeled
• 2 garlic bulbs
• 1 Tbsp rapeseed oil
• pinch of white pepper
• 1 pound, 12 ounce pork loin

chutney:

• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 11/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

sunflower cream:

• 2 oz toasted sunflower seeds
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 cup creme fraiche

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the carrots, whole onions and garlic bulbs in the rapeseed oil and season with salt and a pinch of white pepper.
2. Place the pork in a large casserole dish or roasting tray and arrange the vegetables around it. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes –1 hour. To be sure it’s ready, use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature has reached 70°C. If you don’t have one, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the meat and make sure the juices run clear.
3. For the chutney, sauté the onion, ginger and mustard seeds in the sunflower oil in a frying pan over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, until soft. Set the pan aside.
4. When the pork is ready set it aside to rest, peel the roasted onions and garlic and reserve the flesh. Chop the carrots into thirds.
5. Return the chutney pan to the stove top over a medium heat. Pour in the vinegar and any juices from the roasting tray. Use these to deglaze the onion mixture, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the pan.
6. Add the reserved garlic and onion flesh and the carrots and toss together for a couple of minutes as you would a stir-fry.
7. To make the sunflower cream, blitz together all the ingredients with a little salt for 1 minute, until smooth.
8. Serve slices of the roast pork with the chunky chutney and the sunflower seed cream on the side

 

 

Stuffed Cabbage

from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 oz vermicelli (not the rice variety)
• 7/8 cup basmati rice
• 11/4 cups water
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 medium white cabbage or collard greens
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
•  2 chopped peeled tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Olive oil

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Break the noodles into rough 2cm lengths and add to the pan. Stir as you fry for a minute or two, taking care because they can burn in a second. The moment the noodles start going golden, stir in the rice, water and half a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to its lowest setting, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, leave to sit for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and allow to cool down a bit.

While the rice is cooking, cut the cabbage in half vertically. Peel off the leaves and blanch in boiling water for six to eight minutes, until semi-soft (you may need to do this in batches). Refresh under cold water, drain, pat dry and set aside. If using collard greens, blanch in water in the same method. 

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Add the pine nuts, ricotta, herbs and garlic to the rice, season to taste and stir with a fork. Make a parcel with each cabbage leaf, filling it with a generous amount of the rice mix, or make rolls by placing some rice mix at the base of a rectangular piece of cabbage and rolling up (don’t worry that the ends are exposed).

Arrange the cabbage parcels close together in an ovenproof dish – use any cabbage offcuts to fill gaps. Mix the tomatoes, wine, sugar and some seasoning, pour this over the parcels, sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with oil. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the sauce is thoroughly bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes before serving sprinkled with extra parsley.