ORGANIC KITCHEN
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eaten parts of a plant will harbour residual pesticides (for
example, carrot tops, which are sprayed while the roots
aren’t). By all means, experiment, but do it sensibly.AMARANTHACEAEFAMILY
Beetroot – Just about everyone has eaten the root
at some point, but it amazes me how many people
have eaten silverbeet, but not beetroot leaves. The two
are almost identical. Granted, the older leaves can be
a bit tough, but the young leaves are a tender and
lively ingredient in mixed salads. Just don’t harvest
toomanyatonce,oryourbulbswillbeverysmall.
Chard – It’s common for cooks to trim the stems from
the leaf bases, but why? They’re often super colourful,
containing antioxidants and other goodies, and have
a multitude of uses, from stuffi ng chickens or turkey,
to adding a colour hit to a red curry.Apiaceaefamily
Carrot – For years I’ve pulled carrot tops off as
soon as possible after harvest and thrown them to
the chooks. They are great at helping the birds clear
intestinal parasites. This is hardly the most appetising
way to suggest that we humans should eat them too,
but trust me, they’re pretty good. The ferny leaves are
nicer than the stems, which can be a bit rough, and
they can be used in a variety of ways – in pesto,
soups,salads,sautéedandmore.
Florence fennel – The fronds are used as a herb and
the bulbous base goes great in anything requiring a
hint of aniseed, right? Yes, but don’t ignore two other
parts of the plant: the fl owers and the seeds. The former
are among the prettiest garnishes going, and the seeds
area wonderwithanythingporkyorfromthesea.
Celery – Unlike chard, whose leaves are prized and
stalks discarded, celery is the opposite. The stalks are
the prize and leaves discarded. Go fi gure. This is despite
the leaves being perfectly edible and arguably nicer to
eat than the stalks. Use them in place of fl at-leaf parsley,
in soups and salads, and try making celery leaf pesto.
They’re also brilliant in smoothies.Amaryllidaceaefamily
Onion – Bulbing onions are usually left to reach a
point of maturity before harvesting, at which point
the tops tend to wither and brown. Before that point,
however, those same tops can be harvested just like
spring onions. Remove a leaf or two from each plant,
leavinga fewinplacetohelpthebulbtofattenup.
Garlic – Hardneck garlic cultivars have the habit of
producing a sometimes wonderfully curly fl ower stalk in
spring. In order to direct more of the plant’s energy into
the bulb, most growers remove this ‘scape’ and throw itTop: Young beetroot leaves are tasty in salads.
Left: Garlic scapes can be used like you would chives.
Facing page: Every bit of the coriander plant is edible. PHOTOS: TOP & FACING PAGE: ISTOCK/BOTTOM: ALAMY