Can you eat carrot tops? Yes - here's how

For a long time (until last week, pretty much) I thought the leaves of carrots were inedible. I even had the vague idea that they were poisonous.

But it wasn't until bunches of carrots, leaves attached, kept turning up in my veg box that I actually bothered to get on the internet and find out if all my old prejudices against carrot leaves were true. Turns out I was very, very wrong.

Carrot tops are not only not poisonous, they're pretty tasty and very adaptable - apparently they're a good substitute for parsley.

Next time you get some carrot tops with your carrots, don't chuck them out - use them to make a carrot and carrot top dip.

It's basically hummus but without the chick peas. It's the sort of thing you could use to dip some crudites in, use as a sandwich filling, put on oatcakes or toast, or just get some chips and get stuck in. It's your dip, you do want you like with it. I won't tell.

Ingredients

100g of carrots, cut into thick half moons and roasted until soft (35 minutes at 180 should do the trick, or just steam til tender)
25g of pumpkin seeds, roasted in a dry pan until they pop
One tablespoon tahini
The juice of quarter to a half of a lemon
10g of carrot leaves (don't take the stems, just pull the leafy bits of like you would if you were taking thyme or rosemary off the stems)
One small garlic clove, sliced

How you do it
Chuck all the ingredients in your food processor (or use a stick blender) and process til it's as smooth or chunky as you like it.