Carrot Top Vinaigrette

Using the produce from previous post, I was loathe to treat such delicious looking carrot tops in my usual manner (which is just to chuck them in the trash). So, a few quick google searches later, I find out that not only are they not poisonous, they are in fact a good source of vitamin K which is generally deficient in the carrots themselves.

Carrot tops, in case you are as ignorant to their flavor as I was, taste very green and are pretty bitter. They are similar to curly parsley in respect to flavor, texture and usefulness. Used in a vinaigrette, they are quite good and this made a delicious salad dressing as well as a fantastic sauce on salmon. The measurements are approximate as I had to adjust the flavoring and didn't write down my measurements.

I wouldn't suggest trying this recipe with limp or old carrot tops as they are not as likely to have the same great flavor.

1 cup loosely packed carrot top greens (very fresh)

1/4 cup green onions, chopped (white and green parts)

1 Tbsp cut chives

1 tsp mustard

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar or natural sweetener

salt and black pepper to taste

Put all but the sugar/sweetener and salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until uniform. Adjust the flavoring with the remaining ingredients.

I chose to use the rice wine vinegar because it would not compete with the green flavors of the vinaigrette. Red wine vinegar could be easily substituted. I also used olive oil to complement the green flavors. If you don't like olive oil, grapeseed oil or rice oil could be easily substituted.

Huckleberry-Basil Vinaigrette

So this was a solution I came up with for a huckleberry jam that I bought that was insanely sweet. You can substitute any jam for it or fresh/frozen berries if you have them on hand. You'll need a mortar and pestle or a blender. This will give you about 3 salads worth of dressing. It tastes amazing on baby spinach.
The main flavorings in this are the berry, a fresh green herb, and fresh/spicy garlic flavor. So don't use dried herbs or pre-minced garlic. The dried herbs will make the vinaigrette taste flat and the pre-minced garlic will give an oxidized, musky or slightly metallic taste to the vinaigrette. You would be better off finding a vinaigrette recipe including mustard and more ingredients if using those products.

1 T Huckleberry Jam
1 T fresh basil sliced
1 clove garlic minced
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
2 T olive oil

If you are doing this in a mortar and pestle, mix all ingredients except for the olive oil and grind until fully incorporated. Add oil and season to taste. If you are doing this in a blender add it all in, blend and season to taste.

Possible variations:
Strawberry/Basil/ Mint Vinaigrette
Orange/Cilantro Vin
Strawberry/Cilantro/Lemon zest Vin