I was brainstorming things to have around as snacks in the stomach-gurgling hours before Thanksgiving dinner (oh yes, I am hosting a family Thanksgiving again). I came up with a lot of cheese. And bread and crackers. And spiced nuts. But I needed something to provide a little relief from such things. Something… pickled, it turns out. So I went on a long stroll through the Union Square greenmarket and picked up a few things that caught my eye: carrots of all colors, green cauliflower, a bulb of fennel, a small orb of kohlrabi, and celery that I need for other stuff anyway. The carrots and cauliflower were lightly blanched before going in the jars with everything else. The brine consists of apple cider vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns. They will hang out in the fridge until Turkey Day (which will be celebrated with pork chez Mitch and John, actually). As long as these taste okay and don’t contain botulinum toxin (don’t worry family, they don’t), I think Thanksgiving will start out quite nicely.
I came home from a 2-week-long vacation to a freezer full of food. Before leaving, I cooked as much as possible to use up all our CSA stuff and froze the leftovers. We missed Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Potential All-Around Shitstorm Irene, but if we had been stuck in the apartment we would’ve eaten quite well (and probably would have cleaned out the liquor cabinet). Sadly, the storm caused horrendous flooding at many local farms, including the one that serves my CSA (Stoneledge Farm). I’m wishing them the best and looking forward to seeing them back up and running next season.
Anyway, this carrot soup is nice and simple, and it’s topped off with a pesto made from the carrots’ greens. It was my take on “root-to-stem” cooking, which I of course appreciate (previously: radishes sauteed with radish greens). I can also say from personal experience that the pesto is a good thing to smear on tomato and cheese sandwiches, stir into salad dressings, and mix into pasta or grain salads.
To make carrot top pesto:
Put carrot tops, whatever other fresh herbs you might have/like (I added parsley and thyme), garlic, toasted walnuts, and salt in a food processor. Press the button. Then drizzle in olive oil while the thing is still running. Add grated Parmigiano cheese (optional).
To make carrot soup:
Cook chopped onion, chopped celery, minced garlic, minced ginger, and a lot of carrots in a bit of oil in a pot until onions are translucent. Pour in enough vegetable or chicken broth to fully submerge the vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, and chopped herbs (I used savory, but sage, thyme, and/or rosemary would’ve been nice too). Cover and simmer until carrots are soft. Puree mixture, then return it to the pot. If it is too thick, add more broth. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in carrot top pesto right before serving.
Bonus point: stick a piece of beer bread cheese toast in the bowl.
Here’s another salad for your viewing and eating pleasure. I pulled out whatever vegetables and herbs were left before my CSA pick-up day and put ‘em all together with a simple mustard vinaigrette.
1 small fennel bulb
1/2 pound green beans
1 small carrot
1 tablespoon finely minced red onion
1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
chopped herbs (I used dill and parsley)
Blanch or steam the green beans until they are crisp-tender. Dunk them in ice water, then dry them off and cut into bite-size segments.
Slice the fennel and carrots very thin using a mandoline or a very sharp knife (and crazy good knife skills if you want to compete with the mandoline).
Combine onion, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until salt dissolves. Toss with vegetables. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil and chopped herbs.
I am a sucker for multi-colored anything at the farmers’ market. Case in point: red, purple, yellow, and yes, orange-hued carrots. This year’s food issue of the New Yorker featured a story about root vegetables, and that pretty photo in the article makes me want to produce my own tray of beautifully roasted turnips, potatoes, carrots, celery root, radishes, beets, and other earthy things being ignored in my vegetable drawer. Maybe with a roast chicken or some braised short ribs?
For now, I’m working on the pretty carrots. Roasting seems to be my default cooking method, but this whole combination could also be done with carrots prepared any other way: sauteed, steamed, poached, shredded raw. Or even glazed in some kind of honey-lemon liquid. It’s a little sweet, a little salty, a little bitter, and a little tangy. You know, enough to keep you interested all through winter.
Roasted carrots: cut (if necessary) into sticks or chunks. I like to give them a good scrubbing first, but you can also just peel them. Toss with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 425-degree oven until wrinkled and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Mix: lemon juice with honey, salt, and pepper (and olive oil if you’re using un-oiled carrots).
Top with: mint leaves and feta cheese.
Sometimes I walk into my kitchen and wonder, what the heck am I going to do with all these squash? And carrots? And this cabinet full of precariously stacked spice jars that tumble out sometimes? Then a recipe like this comes along and answers all three of these questions. We followed it, more or less, and added chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans or “hehehe butt beans!” according to me and my cousin Brenda 20 years ago) because I think a little protein is in order, unless you want to be hungry again in like an hour. If you scroll through the hundreds of reader reviews and comments on the Bon Appetit/Epicurious recipe you’ll find other good ideas, like doubling the amount of spices in the stew (necessary), adding currants or raisins to the quinoa, and using broth instead of water.
I’ve been into shredded things and crunchy raw vegetable salads lately. Here’s one more for each of those categories. The weather’s finally warming up a tiny bit, and I’m ready to transition from heavy, nap-inducing meals to lighter things. In between all the cookies and ice cream anyway.
1/4 of a medium head of red cabbage, sliced into thin shreds
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 small bulb shallot, thinly sliced
handful of chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
a few squeezes of lime juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt
black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine yogurt, honey, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and peppers to make dressing. Toss with other ingredients.
You know what’s really good? Those pickled carrots with radishes and jalapeños that you find at legit Mexican restaurants. That, along with this, led me to a sweet and tangy jar of Asian-ish pickled carrots with radishes and hot peppers. Cute side note: my parents always have a jar of pickled jalapeños in the fridge; they put it on beef noodle soup sometimes.
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup rice vinegar (not the seasoned kind)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12-15 small radishes
3 small carrots
1/2 small red onion (full disclosure: I forgot to add this. oops.)
1 small serrano or jalapeño pepper
Pour hot water, vinegar, salt, and sugar into a small (1 pint) jar. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt.
Slice radishes, carrots, onion, and pepper into 1/8-inch thick slices. Add to jar. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days before eating.
I put them on some Asian-ish chicken tacos for dinner tonight (meat marinade: chipotle, adobo from the can, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger). I’ve yet to visit this Kogi truck that got all famous, but so far, I’m a fan of the idea.
