Carrot Top Pesto Pasta turns carrot greens into a savory pesto sauce. Sauteed mushrooms with sun dried tomatoes and garlic add texture and flavor. Toss it all with your favorite pasta!
Carrot tops in recipes? Sure, why not?
I planted carrots in my garden this year. If you grow carrots or any root vegetable from seed you know it needs to be thinned. So I thought what do you do with those tender shoots?
I could compost it. Let them dry out and use it for mulch. Could I eat the shoots? What would it taste like? Would you believe carrots?
Microgreens are shoots. Carrot tops like microgreens concentrate nutrients in these tiny packages. Win, win!
For this version of pesto I left out basil. You can add basil if you like!
Lime juice replaces traditional lemon in this pesto. Greens, garlic, lime and Parmesan. Together it’s a combo I know you’ll love.
Soak sun dried tomatoes in water for 15 to 30 minutes to rehydrate.
pesto
Grind together garlic and carrot top until well chopped. Add lime juice and zest. Grind. Add cheese and pulse to form a paste. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil.
sauce
In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil to a shimmer, about a minute. Add mushrooms and rehydrated tomatoes. Saute until mushrooms are thotoughly cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add pesto and thoroughly heat. Toss with pasta. Add a few drops more of oil if needed. Garnish with shredded Parmesan and carrot fronds.
Dill Pickle Cream Cheese serves as a dip or spread for brunch. Delicious flavor of tart pickle, garlic and dill for veggies, bread or crackers.
It’s day 5 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!
Pickles and cream cheese might sound like an unlikely combo, but it really works! Think how pickles and mayo works together for tartar sauce.
This combo for a dip and spread will be a hit at any brunch. Easy, quick and delicious!
Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries turn a classic egg dish into a fun treat. Diced ham and poached eggs sit on top of crispy waffle fries. A quick blender hollandaise sauce adds a velvety topping to this easy to make meal. A great choice for breakfast or brunch.
It’s day 3 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!
My versions of Eggs Benedict tend to be things like making it with steak or salmon, using homemade biscuits or an orange hollandaise sauce. Today is no different.
Today’s take led me to the freezer. I had some extra waffle fries in there that really needed to be used asap. I thought, I dip toast in sunny up eggs so why not waffle fries? Why not indeed!
Using different meats or bread bases is always a nice change. Hollandaise whether traditional or flavored is still a must. This blender version makes a sometimes touchy sauce into a quick fix. A quick whip of the yolks, lemon juice and salt then drizzle in melted butter. If undercooked eggs are a concern, you can use pasteurized eggs for the sauce.
Poached eggs can be intimidating too. Here’s some easy poached eggs tips.
I add a few drops of vinegar to the water. The acid from the vinegar interacts with the protein in the egg which helps eggs set. Spooning the hot liquid over the eggs as it cooks lets the eggs cook better in place. It makes less chance for breakage.
Prep the meat ahead of time. You can use any meat you like in this dish. I just happened to have a ham steak on hand. Dicing whichever meat you use makes this so much easier to serve and eat.
Cook waffle fries according to package directions. Keep warm. Heat ham and keep warm.
To poach eggs, bring about 1 cup water to a boil in a small fry pan. Reduce heat to medium low. Add vinegar. Gently drop in eggs one at a time. Spoon hot water over eggs to shorten cook time. Cook until opaque, about 3 minutes.
sauce
Put yolks, lemon juice and salt in a blender. Puree until lemon yellow and thick, about 1 minute. While blender is running, slowly drizzle in melted butter. Mix until thick and smooth.
Plate fries. Top with ham and poached eggs. Drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
I’m lucky to have a friend that smokes his own trout. Thanks Joe!
You can use smoked salmon not lox, smoked whitefish or even smoked sardines for a similar flavor.
If you can’t find black garlic in stores, try online. I get it at Wegman’s but try Whole Foods and even Walmart online.
Mixed with cream cheese, black garlic brings a touch of sweetness. I can compare it to how onions sweeten when caramelized.
You want to save the water from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes to make tuiles.
These crunchy, lacey food decorations are easy to make. All you need is a ratio of 2 parts fat, 2 parts liquid and 1 part flour. These decorative tuiles are not the sweet cookie version. Using the water from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes produces a tomato flavor and delicate crunch.
Soak sun dried tomatoes in warm water for about 30 minutes or until rehydrated. Remove tomatoes and refrigerate until use. Reserve the water for tuiles.
tuiles
Whisk together  2 tablespoons sundried tomato water with 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour to form a loose batter. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat for about a minute. Drop 1 teaspoon of batter onto hot skillet. Be careful of splashing. Cook batter until it starts to firm up. As the water evaporates, the holes form. Carefully remove tuiles from pan with a spatula and drain on paper towel to cool.
polenta
Bring broth and polenta to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook, whisking constantly for about  5 minutes until polenta is smooth and thickened.Once the polenta is cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined cooking sheet to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have trouble spreading it, you can cover the polenta with a parchment sheet and press it down with another cooking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Cut cold polenta into pieces approximately 1 1/2 inches. Bake pieces at 375 degrees until polenta starts to brown (10 to 12 minutes). You can also give the crostini a quick shot under the broiler to brown it if baking doesn't brown it in under 12 minutes. You want to keep the inside a bit soft.
cream cheese spread
Mix softened cream cheese, black garlic and salt together until creamy. Refrigerate until ready for use.
assemble
Place a dollop of cream cheese spread on polenta crostini, and garnish with sun dried tomatoes, capers and tuiles.
