Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner... or Overnight or for the Weekend? What’s cooking? Roasted Carrot Salad with Carrot-Top Pesto and Burrata

Nothing focuses the mind quite like the prospect of guests. You’re having friends over for cocktails or dinner, or maybe you’re having a party. Those people will be wandering around your living room, your kitchen, your porch. They’ll be using your bathroom, maybe accidentally poking their heads into the laundry room. In winter, they’ll be hanging their coats in your closet, or piling them on your bed. The more you invite, the more likely someone will wander off the reservation and notice your husband’s exercise equipment that he keeps handy in the corner of your bedroom, or that picture you’ve been meaning to hang that’s been stashed behind a chair for... oh, months. (I will not discuss the piles of books and papers in my office – I won’t live long enough to get that room straightened, so anyone who goes there gets the real me with no apologies.)

Then there are the overnight guests. For however much time, they have full rein over the entire casa, and God knows what they’ll find when they open closets, take a wrong turn on their way to the porch, or decide to make themselves a cup of coffee.

At least these are the tortured thoughts that jog around my brain when the prospect of guests arises. Not that I don’t love entertaining – I’ll invite friends for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine or dinner at the drop of a toque, and I always want friends and family who don’t live near me to come visit. But as the time for those events or visits draws near, I start looking at my environment with fresh eyes – seeing it the way someone who doesn’t live with me might. And I’m almost always horrified at what I find. That towel bar that’s coming loose, the dripping faucet, the rugs that need cleaning, bags of clothing I’ve been meaning to take to Goodwill, ... the list seems endless.

What am I thinking? They’re not trying to buy the place. And most people don’t actually get out the proverbial fine-toothed comb just because you invited them over. I certainly don’t when/if the roles are reversed. But that’s how my mind works.

Inevitably, a few items on my to-do list just don’t get done. Because at some point, what I really want to do is cook for these folks. So the food distracts me and it turns out the guests don’t notice or maybe they do but aren’t telling me. Ah, well...

Our most recent guests were a darling couple from Austin. And the itinerary I put together was as ridiculously crammed as my to-do list. But we had time for a nice lunch on the day they arrived, and I found this truly wonderful salad, a heavenly marriage of roasted carrots and burrata cheese.

Part of what I like best of this dish – other than the excellent mélange of tastes – is that there’s so little wastage. The carrots are small and tender, so you don’t have to scrape them, and most of the feathery tops get used either in the pesto topping or as a green salad accompanying the roasted carrots. If you want to get really compulsive – and I almost always do – save the fronds you don’t use in this dish in a baggie in your freezer for the next time you make vegetable broth.

The other thing I like about this dish is that it affords me a chance to splurge on burrata cheese, that rich and creamy, lightly salty delicacy that first came to us from the Puglia region of Italy. Burrata looks like a small bag, tied at the top. The bag is made from mozzarella, and inside the bag is a soft filling of cream and stracciatella, the shards of cheese left over from making mozzarella. Buy it as fresh as you can find it – most likely from a grocer or cheese shop that gets daily shipments of mozzarella. Central Market in Austin actually makes burrata on site daily.

The recipe is a creation of the very excellent Manhattan Chef April Bloomfield (Spotted Pig, Breslin Bar & Dining Room, and her newest, White Gold Butchers) with JJ Goode, and appears in the book they co-authored, A Girl and Her Greens. And please do not be put off by the length of this recipe. It takes a bit of time because of the separate steps, but there’s nothing hard or complicated about it. Trust the Kitchen Goddess!

Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto and Burrata

Adapted from April Bloomfield and JJ Goode.

Yield: Serves 4-6 as an hors d’oeuvre or side dish

Ingredients
For the carrots:
1 bunch (about 20) of small carrots (large-finger size), scrubbed well but not peeled, and all but 1-2 inches of the tops removed and reserved
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Carrot-Top Pesto:
4 cups (lightly packed) of tender carrot tops (thick stems discarded)
15-20 fresh basil leaves
½ cup walnut pieces
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
1 medium garlic clove, halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the presentation:
1 large (about 8 ounces) burrata, drained and brought to room temperature
3-4 tablespoons Carrot Top Pesto
1½ cups (lightly packed) carrot tops (the most delicate, feathery ones you can find)
10-12 medium-sized basil leaves (if what you have are large leaves, tear them in half right before mixing with carrot tops)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Maldon or another flaky sea salt

Directions

For the carrots:
Preheat the oven to 500º.

In a heavy, oven-proof skillet large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer (or at least close to a single layer), heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the carrots, sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of salt, and use tongs to turn the carrots so that they get well coated with the oil.

Sear the carrots for 7-8 minutes, turning them occasionally, until they're browned in spots. The carrots will get softer and more maleable as they cook, so you should be able to reposition them into a single layer.

Move the skillet to the oven and roast the carrots until tender, 10-11 minutes, pausing halfway through the cooking time to turn them.

Let the carrots cool while you make the pesto.( Or you can make the pesto the night before; if so, bring it to room temperature before serving.)

For the Carrot-Top Pesto:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the carrot tops, basil, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, and salt. Pulse several times – enough for the mixture  to reach a rough, mealy texture. Then with the machine running non-stop, slowly pour in the oil. Continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides, until the mixture is well combined. You can make the purée smooth or rough – whichever suits your taste.

If you make the pesto the day before serving, be sure to cover it well and refrigerate it overnight.

For the presentation:

Place the buratta in the center of a large serving plate. Arrange the carrots around the cheese in a haphazard pattern.

Spoon dollops of the pesto here and there on top of the carrots. The Kitchen Goddess likes to serve the remaining pesto in a bowl so that guests can serve themselves more on the carrots or on crostini.











In a small bowl, combine the carrot top sprigs with the basil leaves. In a separate small bowl or a jar, whisk together the olive oil and the lemon juice with a pinch of salt until the dressing looks creamy. (The Kitchen Goddess prefers to use a jar, so she can just put the lid on and shake it until it looks creamy.) Toss the carrot top sprigs and basil with a couple of teaspoons of the dressing, and arrange the “salad” on top of the carrots.

Take a sharp knife and gently cut the burrata into quarters. (This will feel a little like cutting open a water balloon, but fear not.) Drizzle the rest of the dressing over all, and serve.

It will make you want to have guests every day!

It’s a Pesto Party! What’s cooking? 4 pestos and 10 ways to use them

I always find it a bit painful to watch the vendors at the farmers’ market tear the perfect, feathery green tops from the bunches of carrots and toss them into a heap. I assume they’ll be composting that heap, but it seems like a waste nevertheless. So I did a bit of investigating, and found that a great way to use those carrot tops is in a pesto.

Strictly speaking, pesto refers to a paste made with olive oil, garlic, grated hard cheese, pine nuts, and basil. According to Wikipedia, the ancient Romans made it with a variety of herbs; the Ligurians around Genoa adapted it with basil, and the French in Provence developed it into pistou, which uses no cheese and adds parsley. A recipe for pesto first appeared in an Italian cookbook dated 1863, but the dish didn’t really become popular in the U.S. until at least the 1980s. And no wonder – before the Age of Cuisinart, you had to pound away on those ingredients with your mortar and pestle. The Kitchen Goddess  may be a purist, but she does very little with a mortar and pestle.

These days, with food processors being ubiquitous, cooks make pesto with almost anything. I’ve made delicious pestos with bases of arugula, green peas and mint, and sun-dried tomatoes, in addition to basil. In my research, I uncovered pesto recipes using sage or beets or spinach (so now I have three more to try). Make up your own with your favorite green plant puréed with a couple of cloves of garlic, a handful of pine nuts, lots of good quality olive oil, and some finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Tweak it with a bit of lemon or lime or OJ or citrus zest, and tell me about it. I’ll do a follow-up post in the fall featuring any I hear about.

I should add that pesto keeps really well – at least a couple of weeks in the fridge, and a year in the freezer.

In the meantime, the Kitchen Goddess looked around the farmers’ market and found lots of ingredients for pesto, and whipped up four delicious ones for you. And so you don’t have to wonder what to do with all that pesto you’re about to make...

Beyond Pasta: 10 Ways to Use Pesto

We all know that pesto is great on pasta. Add a little of the pasta water to thin out the pesto (you may also want to add a bit of cream), and garnish with a sprinkling of extra cheese or parsley. Mmmm... What else?

1. Use pesto as a crudité dip – the cilantro pesto goes especially well with cucumber rounds and endive leaves. I frequently use basil pesto or arugula pesto to dip a variety of raw veggies (blanched asparagus, raw carrots, radishes, celery, snow peas, jicama, broccoli, bell peppers).

2. Drizzle pesto over roasted vegetables. The roasted carrots above were wonderful with the carrot-top pesto, or you can try the Kitchen Goddess’s recipe for Grilled Cauliflower with Pesto and Cheese Sauce (click here for recipe). I feel weak just remembering this dish.

3. Thin pesto with some olive oil and use it as a salad dressing. Or don’t thin it and try it on this Potato and Green Bean Salad with Arugula Pesto (click here for recipe). It doesn’t have to be arugula pesto.

4. As an hors d’oeuvre, serve crostini or crackers spread with fresh ricotta cheese or goat cheese, and topped with a dollop of pesto. This photo features Spring Pea and Mint Pesto (click here for recipe), but any pesto will do.

5. Use pesto instead of tomato sauce to make your own favorite pizza.

6. Spread pesto on your favorite crusty sandwich bread for a great new BLT, or even a Chicken-LT.

7.  Brighten up breakfast with a dollop of zingy parsley pesto over polenta topped with a soft-boiled egg.

8. Try cilantro pesto or parsley pesto on broiled fish or scallops. Divine.

9. For another easy hors d’oeuvre idea, garnish quartered hard-boiled eggs with one of these pestos – pretty and tasty.

10. Think French and stir a spoonful of pesto – just like pistou but with cheese – into a steaming bowl of vegetable soup.

So now that you know what to do with it, here are four variations on classic pesto.

L to R: Basil-Parsley-Pistachio Pesto, Carrot-Top Pesto, Cilantro Pesto, Parsley Pesto.

Basil-Parsley-Pistachio Pesto

Adapted from Julia della Croce at npr.com

This is a pretty pesto, with multicolor shades of green from the pistachios and the parsley. The nuts add a bit of crunch to the texture as well as a meatiness to the taste, which is surprisingly mild (in a good way). If you want a stronger flavor, increase the garlic.

Makes about 1½ cups.

½ cup pistachios, shelled, peeled*, unsalted
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
1 cup basil leaves, packed
½ cup parsley leaves, packed
1 large clove garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup good quality olive oil
¼ cup finely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
freshly ground pepper

*[Kitchen Goddess note: If you cannot get pistachios that are shelled and have the membranes removed, buy the shelled nuts, remove the kernels from the shells, then blanch them in a small saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute. Shock them in cold water for a couple of minutes, then drain the nuts on paper towels, and the membranes will peel off easily.]

Toast the pistachios and the almonds. [See note about toasting nuts at the end of this post.] Pulse the toasted nuts in the bowl of a food processor until coarsely ground.

Add the basil, parsley, garlic, and salt to the nuts, and pulse until the mixture is grainy. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Stop the motor and add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and about 8 good grinds of black pepper. Pulse until well combined. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Chill until a half hour before serving.

Carrot-Top Pesto

Adapted from Diane Morgan in Roots, via npr.org

This pesto is amazing on top of roasted carrots, but good in many other uses. The carrot greens have a mellow taste, so the flavor of the cheese comes through stronger than with some other pestos.

Makes 1½ cups.

6 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cups packed carrot top leaves, large stems discarded
2 large cloves garlic
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup good quality olive oil
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Start by toasting the pine nuts. [See note about toasting nuts at the end of this post.]

Combine the toasted nuts with the carrot tops, the garlic, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until grainy. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pulse until combined.

Cilantro Pesto

With the little bit of heat from the jalapeño, this cilantro pesto has a nice bite to it and, because it isn’t heavy, works really well over white fish or shrimp.

Makes 1½ cups.

¼ cup pine nuts
2 cups cilantro, thickest stems removed
2 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 tablespoon jalapeño, seeds removed
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ teaspoon salt
6-8 good grinds of pepper

Toast the pine nuts. [See note about toasting nuts at the end of this post.] Combine the cilantro, toasted pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until grainy. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Add the jalapeño and Parmigiano-Reggiano and pulse until combined. Add the lime juice and salt/pepper and pulse just until combined. Chill until a half hour before serving.

Parsley Pesto

Adapted from Bon Appétit, June 2013

Italian parsley is available year-round, so this is a pesto you can make any time. Bright taste with a mildly nutty finish. Excellent tossed with broiled shrimp over pasta.

Makes 2 cups.

¼ cup unsalted, slivered almonds
¼ cup pine nuts
4 cups (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup chopped fresh chives
1 large garlic clove, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup finely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper

Toast the almonds and the pine nuts. [See note about toasting nuts at the end of this post.] In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the nuts until evenly ground. Add the parsley, chives, and garlic, and salt, and pulse to a grainy texture. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pulse until combined. Add the lemon juice and about 8 good grinds of black pepper, and pulse just until combined. Chill until a half hour before serving.

A Kitchen Goddess Note on Toasting Nuts:

There are several ways to toast nuts, but the Kitchen Goddess prefers either the stovetop method or the oven method. (You can also toast nuts in a toaster oven or a microwave. Neither is any easier than the methods below.) The oven method is better if you need the burner or have already heated the oven; stovetop is preferable for speed and easier monitoring. ANY METHOD NEEDS MONITORING, as nuts can go from golden brown to burnt in the blink of an eye. (Once, after burning three batches in a row – hard to imagine, eh? – I had to raid my neighbor’s pantry for more nuts.)

Stovetop: Put the nuts in a large enough skillet to hold them in a single layer and cook them over medium heat, stirring every 20-30 seconds, until the nuts begin to brown, after which you’ll need to stir them almost constantly until they achieve a golden brown. The whole process will take about 5 minutes. Once you take them off the fire, continue stirring for another minute or remove them to a bowl/plate, as they will continue to absorb heat from the pan.

Oven: Put the nuts in a large enough pan to hold them in a single layer. Roast them at 375º in the upper third of the oven. After about 4 minutes, shake the pan every 2 minutes to get the color even. The whole process will take about 10 minutes.