Delicious veggie recipes by April Bloomfield

Crushed spring peas with mint, Pan-roasted carrots and asparagus with Carrot-Top Pesto and Burrata, with pan fried rock cod

Last weekend I borrowed from our local library "a girl and her greens" by April Bloomfield.

This is an amazing cookbook! I was so inspired reading it that I bought all those veggies you saw in my previous post from our Farmers' Market to try out some of the recipes. And they are delicious!

The above image was our Sunday dinner.

Here are my versions of April's recipes:

Crushed spring peas with mint

2 cups of fresh peas, shelled from 2 pounds of pods

1 ounce of Pecorino Romano

1 large peeled and roughly chopped garlic clove

10 fresh medium mint leaves

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

the juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tablespoons

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend quickly to just a coarse puree. Using a spatula, scrape the mixture in a small bowl. Stir the mixture several times so that it has the textures of both creamy and chunky. The taste should be light, sweet and not acidic.

Pan-roasted carrots and asparagus with carrot-top pesto and burrata:

(original recipe: Roasted carrots with carrot-top pestp and burrata)

1 bunch of finger-width carrots, scrubbed but not peeled, with just 1/2 inch of the tops remaining

Keep the carrot top greens for the pesto

1 bunch of asparagus, preferably thinner spears, with the stalks partially peeled

2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil

1/2 pound burrata, drained

several tablespoons of Carrot Top Pesto

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and asparagus, turning them so that they are coated with the oil. Cook, turning the carrots and asparagus to brown and cook evenly, about 15 to minutes.

Halve the burrata and arrange on a platter. Arrange the carrots and asparagus next to the burrata. Add dollops of the Carrot-Top Pesto on the vegetables.

Carrot-Top Pesto

reserved carrot top greens

8 fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup walnut halves

1 ounce Pecorino Romano

1 garlic clove coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Rinse and drain the carrot top greens and combine in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until creamy. Stir in more olive oil if needed.

Thank you April for these wonderful new taste experiences!