Compost Salsa

I came up with this recipe after a visit to the farmers market.

As I was washing and chopping vegetables, I suddenly realized I was about to discard these huge, gorgeous fennel fronds into the compost bag…

If you’ve ever purchased and cooked with fresh fennel, you know that the bulbs only represent a small portion of the vegetable, and much of the plant is often disposed of as waste. I figured there had to be a way to use those beautiful greens, especially because fennel has such wonderful health benefits. So instead of tossing them into the compost, this time I tossed them into the blender, along with the other ingredients below, and created an awesome salsa for crackers, chips, veggies or sandwiches.

I’ve also made this recipe with carrot greens and spring onion greens, though there are probably dozens of variations I haven’t even thought of! I tend to use apple cider vinegar for this recipe, which is quite pungent, but you can easily substitute lemon juice or whatever more mellow vinegar you enjoy. And of course whenever you cook, taste as you go and adjust proportions of ingredients to your taste. Oh yes, and my 4-year old loves this recipe. Enjoy!

Compost Salsa

Ingredients:

Tops from 2 bulbs of fennel

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or preferred vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flake

2 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

water if needed

Directions:

Chop the fennel tops into pieces and place in blender with remaining ingredients, except water. Blend together and add small amounts of water as needed until desired texture is achieved.