Save those bright green carrot tops from the compost bin by whizzing them up into a spicy sauce for topping a North African-spiced carrot stew
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oday’s warming recipe makes a hero of the whole carrot from root to leaf, and sits somewhere between a roast and a stew. The lush green tops are turned into a punchy chermoula that is stirred into the sauce and used as a garnish.
One image has stayed with me ever since a journey through a small Moroccan village near Taghazout, just west of Marrakech, all of 12 years ago. Bright orange carrots lay in vast heaps on contrasting blue tarpaulin spread across the ground. I was especially struck by how the vast majority of each pile was green with the feathery foliage that was still attached to the roots we love. The carrot is so often robbed of its crowning glory before it reaches the supermarket shelf, but when you find a bunch with those vibrant tops intact, you’re getting two ingredients for the price of one. Those super-nutritious greens can be stirred into stews, tossed with other leaves, or blended into bright green sauces such as a pesto today’s punchy chermoula, a piquant North African herb sauce that adds brightness and depth to this warming stew.
