Carrot tops and chick pea salad recipe

We recently did a survey of some carrot trials for Kalfresh at Gatton and grower Tony Byrne got chatting to my wife (and official “spotter”) about vegetable recipes. As a result, she walked away with a lovely bunch of very fresh carrots complete with tops, and a promise to post a recipe for a carrot tops and chickpea salad. So here it is:

First of all you have to keep the carrot tops fresh! They dry out very quickly and if you leave them attached to the carrots those will lose their moisture too. You need to take the tops off and if you can’t use them right away, wrap them in a moist paper towel and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

• 1 tsp of Olive Oil
• 1 tsp of Ground Cumin
• 1 Medium Onion (minced)
• 1 cup Chick Peas (soaked in water)
• 1 cup Carrot Greens (finely chopped)
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Salt to taste

Heat the oil over a medium heat, then add the cumin and fry for one minute or until nicely fragrant.

Add the onions and saute for about two minutes until golden.

Add the chick peas and saute for about two minutes or until they are thoroughly heated through and any liquid has evaporated.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the carrot tops. Toss, then transfer to a serving bowl and season with lemon juice and salt.

That’s all there is to it. The carrot tops are similar in flavour to parsely but with carrot overtones. They have lots of Vitamin C, so they’re very good for you. Don’t throw them away.