Carrots with Salsa Verde and Seared Squid

I love to be introduced to new ingredients. Sometimes it’s from a cookbook (I rarely see a cookbook I don’t want to own), a cooking show, the farmer’s market, a grocery store, or a friend. I think the best thing about being involved with food is that the adventure never ends. There are always new things to try and new things to learn. 

Trying New Ingredients

This month’s recipe, Carrots with salsa verde and seared squid, has 2 ingredients that were new to me, carrot tops and squid. I’ve bought carrots with the tops before, but have never used them. I didn’t know how, until now.

When I’m wanting to do something fun or new with vegetables, the first place I go is to the cookbook Six Seasons, A New Way With Vegetables, by Joshua McFadden. In his book, he separates the seasons into spring, early, mid and late summer, fall, and winter. This particular recipe is from the early summer section.

I was a little nervous about purchasing and searing the squid. In my head I was thinking that it would probably taste and feel like rubber. I looked online for the best way to sear the squid and some websites said to never sear it for more than a minute, but my recipe said to sear it for 3 minutes.

The first time I made the recipe I seared the sliced squid for 2 minutes. Some of the pieces were a little chewy, but some were cooked perfectly. Regardless of the texture, to my surprise, I really liked the flavor. What I realized was that the thicker pieces needed a little more time, while the thinner pieces were fine with less.

If it’s hard to wrap your head around squid, or you have trouble finding it, shrimp would be a good substitute in this recipe.

Salsa Verde vs. Pesto

This recipe uses the fresh carrot tops in a salsa verde. Like pesto, you can substitute many different herbs to change up the flavor profile. Parsley and mint are added to the carrot tops, but if you can’t find carrots with the greens still attached, double the amount of parsley and mint. Do you know the difference between salsa verde and pesto?

I have eaten and made pesto a number of times. It usually starts with sweet basil, but you can definitely find recipes featuring other herbs. Pesto also contains nuts like pine nuts, a salty cheese, garlic and olive oil. You end up with a creamy, nutty sauce that is often blended into a paste. It is often used to top pasta, put on sandwiches, or something to dip bread into. I have also used it in place of a red sauce on my pizza.

On the other hand, salsa verde often starts with parsley as the base herb. As with the pesto, different herbs can also be used. Capers and garlic are also common in salsa verde, as well as anchovies. Olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice round out this sauce. With these ingredients you get a sauce with bright flavors that are briny and acidic. This sauce is usually chopped rather than blended, often used to top meat and roasted or seared vegetables. It can also be used for dipping bread.

Cooking with Seasonal Produce: My Garden or the Farmer’s Market

This is a great time of the year to experiment with herb sauces.

Growing Fresh Herbs

Are you growing herbs in your garden? If you are, they are very inexpensive to use, and such a delight as they add flavor, color and nutrition to any dish. Enjoy this article for some great herbs to grow now.

Shopping at the Farmers Market

For the produce I don’t grow at home, I start my search at a local farmer’s market. My goal is to get as much of my food directly from the farmers growing the food or raising the animals. Getting to know the farmers who grow the food we eat is a good way to get connected to our food. It’s also a good way to learn how things are grown.

• Do they use pesticides or herbicides?
• When was the produce picked?
• For farmers who raise the animals I often ask them what they feed the animals.

I get quite an education each time I have a conversation with a farmer.

Why You’ll Love This Roasted Carrots with Salsa Verde Recipe

This recipe may look complicated with a lot of ingredients, but when I began to look at it, I realized that I had most of the ingredients already in my kitchen. 

If you enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients, explore our recipes featuring garlic, fresh herbs, and seasonal vegetables. If you enjoy shrimp, try these tacos.

Roasted Carrots With Salsa Verde And Seared Squid

Ingredients:

1 bunch of young carrots with fresh greens (about 1 pound total)

½ cup lightly packed, roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

½ cup lightly packed, roughly chopped mint leaves

2 scallions, trimmed, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ cup capers, drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus more to top at the end

Kosher salt and freshy ground black pepper

Hot sauce, such as Sriracha

Extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces cleaned squid, rinsed, tubes sliced crosswise into ½ inch pieces, tentacles halved if large

1 firm-ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, cut into chunks, and coated in lemon juice to prevent browning

6 medium pickled peppers, such as pepperoncini, sliced into rings

1 tablespoon pickling liquid from the peppers

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup roasted, salted pistachios, roughly chopped

Directions:

Cut the carrot tops from the carrots and remove the thicker stems. Using the feathery tops, rinse and spin dry. Roughly chop the greens and measure out 1 cup, lightly packed. 

Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Prepare the carrots by peeling them, or if the skins are tender, thoroughly rinse them. Cut the carrots in half lengthwise, and in large chunks if desired. On a sheet pan, add the carrots and enough olive oil to coat the carrots. Bake for 15 minutes and toss the carrots so they brown some on all sides. Check every 5-7 minutes, until they are browned and tender. 

While the carrots are roasting, make the salsa verde. To a bowl add the carrot tops, parsley, mint, scallions, garlic, capers, and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, black pepper to taste, and a few drops of hot sauce and toss. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Add ½ cup olive oil and adjust seasonings so the salsa verde is bright and zesty.

Once the carrots are tender and browned, let them cool in a bowl or on a serving plate.

Toss the squid with a small amount of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste. Heat a skillet until very hot. Add the squid and sear, shaking and tossing so the squid cooks quickly, about 3 minutes (for thicker pieces). The, add the squid to the carrots. Add ½ cup of the salsa verde to the squid and carrots and toss to coat. 

Add the avocado slices, the pepperoncini and pickling liquid, and the lemon juice. Taste and adjust with more seasoning if needed. Drizzle with olive oil and top with pistachios, more salsa verde, and lemon zest. This dish can be served warm or cold. I found it delicious both ways.

Recipe adapted from Six Seasons, A New Way With Vegetables, by Joshua McFadden

Lisa’s other recipe blogs:

Undeniably Delicious Sprout Wraps

Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Herb Pesto

Beautiful Bowls

Beef Tongue Tacos

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Yogurt & Savory Sesame Topping

About the Author: Lisa Schumacher is a graduate of NTI’s Certified Natural Food Chef program, a Registered Nurse and Holistic Practitioner. She is the owner of Lisa’s Vibrant Kitchen.  She is passionate about helping people learn how to nourish themselves. Whether it’s one-on-one, in a class setting, in person, or over zoom, inspiring and teaching others how to create delicious, nutritious food is her happy place. She loves to introduce people to foods they never expected to eat. To find out more about Lisa, please send questions to Li*****************@***il.com.