Indian spices Carrot Top "Saag"

I took my first vacation this year visiting my sis-wonderful time to catch up, soak in the hot springs water, bike ride, yoga and plow through The Memory Keeper's Daughter (great read, changes between characters like Jodi Picoult or George Martin. Seeing the ripple effect of one choice made). We happened to be at the resort during guest chef weekend so we paid and had the luxury of not needing to cook a majority of our meals. Throw the dairy ban out the window for the magical spicy chai, cheese with veggies and cream atop of the strawberry rhubarb and flourless chocolate cake, but it was worth it! Certainly got some fun ideas: potato chips on top of fish and ginger-lemonade as a natural quencher.

Getting back into dairy-free cooking once back at home, but still carrying over lingering affects of eating a little more slowly. Savoring each bite. Helps me realize when I'm full too. In the spirit of Wilbur Hot Spring's waste not (eco-friendly composting, cooking in season, solar powered grid) and in the spirit of trying new things (soaking sans bathing suit, getting a massage while lying on my side), I implore you not to toss your carrot tops next time (sure composting is nice, but maybe you don't have time to go out to the store to get more veggies).

I've mentioned it before that it's been hard to find something tasty to do with carrot tops-pesto is one thing I've repeated, but a girl like me isn't happy without variety in her diet. I read about making a tea but that won't use up much plus I'm not a big fan of the flavor of carrot top leaves. I chopped it up and added it as an herb to a lentil salad (was alright, nothing to blog about). This week I finally found something worth puffing up my feathers about! Using it in place of spinach (or other leafy greens) for an Indian inspired spicy vegetarian dish was an experiment gone good. I followed a Saag (spinach) recipe from Holy Cow! with a few tweaks.

You'll need for two servings:
1 bunches of carrot tops (about 3 cups with thick stems removed, chopped roughly and boiled in about 1/4 cup of water until tender ~3 minutes)
1/2 cup chopped onion stem (or onion bulb)
.5 tsp cumin powder
.5 tsp coriander seed powder
.25 tsp turmeric (optional)
.25 tsp chili powder or red chili flakes
1 TBSP tomato paste (recipe could be 1/2 14-oz can of diced tomatoes or 1 tomatoes, diced)
.5 tbsp ginger, grated
.5 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
.5 tbsp cornflour whisked with 1/4 cup of hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium.

2. Add the onion and cook till browned. While waiting mix all dry spices together in a small dish. Mix the corn flour and milk in a separatedish.

3. Add the dry spices to the onion and let cook 30 seconds to release the flavor.

4. Add the wilted carrot tops, tomato paste, ginger and pepper flakes. Cook about 10 minutes on a low simmer.

5. Add the corn flour and water mixture to thicken the dish.

I ate mine as a side to roasted celery and "nacho cheese" soup. And also cold with canned salmon flakes as a snack. 


What do you like to do to slow it down?