For those of you who are growing your own vegetables, do you use the leaves to your carrots? Carrot greens are edible and have a mild and pleasant taste that is like a cross between carrot and green herb.
I have 2 deep pots filled with carrots this summer. I cut a stem from a couple of carrots every time I gather greens for salads. Since I still want my carrots to continue sizing up, I try to not take more than one stem per carrot and also try to space out how often I cut from a particular carrot. The green leaves can be used up till harvest.
The stem itself is tough, but the tiny frond-like leaves are tender enough for salads. Carrot leaves can also be added to soups, pesto, rice, dressings, stuffings, and dips.
I picked an assortment of lettuce, watercress, nasturtium leaves and blossoms, chive blossoms, and carrot leaves for this salad mixture to go with leftover dolmades for our lunch on Sunday. The carrot leaves added visual, textural, and flavor interest to the salad.
I'm making a real effort to use as much as possible from my garden this summer and through fall. This means I need to be resourceful and look to the different parts of plants that are edible.
Have you tried carrot leaves?
