peas on carrots

June 9, 2014 • Nancy Wolfson-Moche

Carrots come in many colors and their flavors vary accordingly. I found these three shades of orange and yellow carrots at the local green market. The raw pea pesto is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks Vegetarian Everyday  by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl. The slightly spicy pesto is delicious on pasta, bread and radishes too.

IMG_8601

serves 4

INgredients

3-4 orange and yellow carrots

pea spread (see below)

2 green grapes for garnish

For the Slightly Spicy Pea Pesto:

1 ¼ cups fresh raw green peas, shelled

2 1/2  Tablespoons coarsely chopped dry roasted almonds

juice of ½ lemon

1/8 teaspoon dried chili pepper

3-5 mint leaves

1 teaspoon EVOO

sea salt to taste (a pinch or slightly more)

Process  To make the pea pesto: place all ingredients in a blender

IMG_8549

and blend on medium setting until ingredients are ground into a paste with a crunchy texture.

IMG_8552

Use a paring knife to trim the ends of the carrots and scrape their skin, removing any tiny hairs or rough spots. Wash them well by immersing them in water.

IMG_8520

Slice the carrots on the diagonal into ovals about a half-inch thick.

IMG_8528

Arrange carrots on a large plate, alternating different colors.

IMG_8531

Use a butter knife or spreader to spread the pea pesto on some of the carrot slices.Slice the grapes lengthwise and place them in the center, with a sprig of mint on top.

©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2014

 

 

 

 

Icing on the Cake: Testimonials

I loved Ms. Nancy’s cooking class so much.! I have been in this cooking class for two years and I would love to sign up for another one. I tried a lot of new foods like winter squash, cardamom, Brussels sprouts and kale. My favorite salad was the kiwi, carrot, radish salad.
Not only did we cook and eat, we also did labs about food. We used rulers to measure the size of plants. We also explored stone fruits and their ripe season. Now in my house we have window boxes and I am growing cherry tomatoes and basil.
I learned that we can use a lot of different tools to cook, not just our hands and senses. We used safety knives, potato peelers and a carrot sharpener (I wonder if you could sharpen a pencil with it?) !!!
Because of this class I can help papi make dinner and I will try any new food at least once to see if I like it. Thank you, Ms. Nancy for making cooking fun and interesting and helping me be excited about food.

- Love, K (a 7-year-old boy).