Roasted carrot fries are a favorite vegetable for many, but carrot greens are so neglected! Did you know that they are very similar to parsley, and in fact are closely related? That makes them wonderful to use in a chimichurri, which is traditionally made from parsley and used as a condiment for steak in South America. When you can find a bunch of carrots with the greens intact, grab them up so that you can make this bright, fresh, herbaceous sauce that pairs perfectly with roasted carrot fries! Serve it with a steak so that you can use some of the chimichurri there, too.
I’m proud to be able to share this recipe from a new cookbook by my friend Amanda Torres, who you may already know as the blogger behind The Curious Coconut and author of a previous cookbook focused on Latin American Paleo Cooking, which I reviewed here when it was released in 2017.
If you loved that book as much as I did, you’ll be happy to learn that she has a followup now available, which is just as mouth-watering…
Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking
As I always do when reviewing cookbooks, let me answer a some questions first…
What makes Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking so great?
It is designed for your real life! The recipes in each chapter are organized by how long they take to get on the table: 15 mins or less, 30 mins or less, or 45 mins or less, which makes it perfect for busy weeknights. Additionally, the recipes require no difficult to find specialty ingredients and no special appliances, which is especially welcome in our current times when shopping has become more of a challenge or all of us.
The recipes are staple dishes for the backbone of a healthy Paleo diet – fresh meats and a huge variety of vegetables. This isn’t the book for extravagant or complicated “replacement recipes” for things like breads, cakes, etc. Rather, it’s all delicious mains, vegetable sides, and a few treats that can also serve as snacks. And the focus is on preparing meals not just individual recipes. Many main dish recipes have instructions written in them for side dishes, and for those that don’t have a built-in side, there is a Side Dish Finder in the back so you can easily pair mains with sides that have the same cook time/cook temp/cooking method.
But what about my healing diet?
As implied by the name, all of the 76 recipes in Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking are indeed Paleo, which means they are gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and legume-free.
33 are compliant with the elimination phase of the autoimmune protocol (AIP) with an additional 13 easily modified to be so. This makes about half of the recipes in the book accessible immediately for people who are in the elimination phase and many more as you begin to reintroduce some of the eliminated foods.
Specifically, 65 recipes are egg-free, 53 are seed-free, 50 are nut-free (including coconut), and 51 are nightshade-free.
Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking is also a great cookbook for people who need a low-carbohydrate approach or are following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) as the vast majority of the recipes will fit right into those constraints.
Can I see a sample recipe?
NOTE: It just so happens that this recipe and all of Amanda’s new cookbook fits perfectly with my theme of “easy” recipes so I’ve included this as the sixth entry in my year-long series highlighting the easiest way I know to prepare some of the most nutrient dense powerhouse ingredients that we know we SHOULD be eating all the time, but especially when we are in a healing phase and following an elimination diet like the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP).To view the rest of the easy recipes in the series, click here.
Roasted Carrot Fries with Carrot Top Chimichurri Recipe
Reprinted with permission from Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking by Amanda Torres, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. Photo credit: Jean Choi
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Easy Roasted Carrot Fries with Carrot Top Chimichurri (AIP, SCD)
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2-3 servings 1x
Description
Carrot greens are such a neglected vegetable. Did you know that they are very similar to parsley, and in fact are closely related? That makes them wonderful to use in a chimichurri, which is traditionally made from parsley and used as a condiment for steak in South America. When you can find a bunch of carrots with the greens intact, grab them up so that you can make this bright, fresh, herbaceous sauce that pairs perfectly with roasted carrot fries! Serve it with a steak so that you can use some of the chimichurri there, too.
Ingredients
FOR THE CARROT FRIES
- 6–7 medium carrots (about 1 bunch)
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine Himalayan salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
FOR THE CHIMICHURRI
- 1 cup (60 g) chopped carrot greens, thick stems removed (about 1 bunch)
- ½ cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) red wine vinegar or coconut vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fine Himalayan salt, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon (9 g) minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (OMIT for elimination phase of AIP)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- To make the fries, cut the tops off the carrots and set them aside for the chimichurri. Peel the carrots and cut them in half crosswise. Take the bottom, thin halves and cut them in half lengthwise. Take the top, thick halves and cut them lengthwise into quarters. This will give you spears that are about the same size.
- Place the carrot spears on a metal baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on top. Use your hands to rub the oil and seasonings onto every carrot spear. Spread them evenly on the baking sheet, ensuring they aren’t crowded. Roast the carrot spears for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking.
- While the carrots are roasting, make the chimichurri. Massage the carrot greens, olive oil, vinegar and salt together with your hands in a bowl until the greens release some of their water and they soften. Stir in the garlic and pepper flakes (if using). Serve the carrot fries with the chimichurri on the side as a dipping sauce, or spread it on top of each serving.
Notes
Chef’s Note: If you can’t find carrots with the greens attached, you can substitute flat leaf (Italian) parsley in the chimichurri.
Reprinted with permission from Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking by Amanda Torres, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. Photo credit: Jean Choi
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side
Get more recipes like this here: Fast & Flavorful Paleo Cooking by Amanda Torres
Did you enjoy this recipe? Want to be the first to hear about new AIP-friendly, gluten-free, Paleo recipes? Please sign up for my weekly email newsletter to stay in the loop!
Wondering where to buy AIP compliant cooking oils and other shelf-stable ingredients? I suggest ShopAIP!
Other carrot recipes from my blog archives
- Thai Chicken Curry with Mushrooms and Carrots
- Quick Pickled Carrots
- Thai Basil Beef with Carrots & Rainbow Chard
- Beef Stew with Turnips & Carrots
- Celery Root & Carrot Slaw
- Carrot, Fennel, and Orange Soup
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