Carrot Top Salsa Verde
Zesty, earthy, and bright
I had a really difficult time deciding whether to call this recipe Carrot Top Pesto, or Carrot Top Salsa Verde. As you can see, the salsa verde won, but it was a close tie. This is my fusion of pesto and salsa verde with carrots tops in center stage. Think of this sauce slathered on grilled meats, kebabs, or roasted vegetables….
English Pea Toast
Green globes of deliciousness.
I remember as a little girl sitting in the sink helping my mother shell peas. It is one of my favorite memories. Fresh peas from the garden are nothing like the gross green things that come from a can. Still to this day, if I have a bunch of peas to shell I will sit upon the counter with my back against the cabinets and my feet in the sink shelling these little green globes of deliciousness. It is one of my happiest places.
Elderflower Fritters
Gebackene Holunderblüten
Gebackene Holunderblüten
Grilled Carrot and Red Onion Salad
Grilled carrots, what?
While carrots can be roasted or poached, sauteed or boiled, cooked rather in any which way, grilled has always been one of my favorites. Maybe because it is so unexpected while utterly delicious. Try serving this salad with grilled shrimp and spicy Thai dressing, or add to a nice bed of mixed greens topped with thick slices of steak and blue cheese. It is completely versatile.
Roasted Radishes with White Wine
A game changer.
Not everyone enjoys a good raw radish pulled straight from the soil. However, I have not met anyone who hasn’t enjoyed the good ol’ cooked radish. These little bundles of joy can be roasted in the oven, grilled, or sautéd in a hot pan. Delicious. A game-changer, for sure.
Acacia Flower Fritters
A dainty but striking affair.
A dainty but striking affair.
Garlic Scape & Stinging Nettle Pesto
Earthy and spicy goodness.
Earthy and spicy goodness.
The Buzz on Stinging Nettle
Foraging for that peppery zing.
You know, sometimes, I feel like I am going to get that reputation for being that crazy plant girl. People always stop and ask me what I am doing when they catch me with my black medical gloves, basket, fully clothed from head to toe heading into the forest.
Cream of Nettle Soup
Emerald green deliciousness in a bowl.
One of my absolute favorite springtime soups, this bowl of emerald green feeds my soul.
Stinging Nettle Pasta
The prize of springtime wild harvesting.
I dropped a batch of homemade pasta off at a friend’s house, and her wife answered the door. She looked incredulously at me as I told her the pasta was made with stinging nettle. She is a huge trail runner and only knew the plant as something you didn’t want to stumble in. She almost looked like she wanted to hand the container back, and I don’t blame her, but I urged her to try it. Later I got the text. “Rachel, the pasta, it’s so incredible.” I felt like I had just won the plant a new friend, and put a huge smile on my face.
Roast Chicken with Sumac and Rhubarb
Rhubarb. More than just pies.
I know rhubarb is called in many places in our country, the pie plant. But trust me. It has so much more to offer than just pies. For example, rhubarb can be the shining star in this roast chicken recipe from Melissa Clarks cookbook Dinner: Changing the Game.
Pea Shoot Pesto
Earthy delicious.
Pesto, to me, is one of the most versatile sauces. Wait, is it a sauce? Or is it a dip? I actually don’t know what I would classify it as, other than a combination of ingredients that have the possibility to be simply delicious.
As controversial as it may be, basil pesto, while very good, is not my favorite.
Have dried tomatoes? Make dried tomato pesto. Garlic scapes, stinging nettle, or in this case, pea sprouts… give it a try.