The Knobbly Plate

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Classic Carrot Top Argentine Chimichurri

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With the arrival of the new season’s carrots comes a bounty of lush, leafy tops—often overlooked, but bursting with fresh, herbal character. Rather than letting them go to waste, why not transform them into a vibrant, tangy classic: carrot top chimichurri? Traditionally made with parsley, chimichurri is a zesty Argentinian sauce, but carrot tops bring a similarly bright, slightly bitter edge that pairs perfectly with its garlicky, vinegar-laced profile.

Chopped finely or pulsed gently in a food processor, the carrot tops are blended with fresh garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, chilli flakes, and a touch of oregano to create a sauce that’s alive with flavour. The carrot greens lend a more robust, earthy depth than parsley alone, with just enough bite to stand up to hearty accompaniments.

One of the best—and most budget-friendly—ways to serve carrot top chimichurri is over a tray of roasted root vegetables. Think golden chunks of parsnips, wedges of beetroot, caramelised onions, and sweet, blistered carrots. A drizzle of oil, a toss with salt and pepper, and a hot oven do most of the work, coaxing out each vegetable’s sweetness while keeping their texture satisfyingly firm. Once roasted, these vegetables become the perfect canvas for the chimichurri, which cuts through their richness with a zing of acidity and herbs.

Not only is this a meal rooted in economy—making the most of the whole vegetable—but it’s also deeply nourishing. Rich in fibre, antioxidants, and healthy fats, it fuels both body and soul. Every bite tells a story of seasonal eating, low waste, and simple cooking done well.

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Classic Carrot Top Argentine Chimichurri
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan/vegetarian
Cuisine: South American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 persons
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup carrot tops, washed and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • sea salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine the carrot tops, oregano leaves and garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
  2. Transfer the mixture to a medium sized bowl and stir in the olive oil and red wine vinegar.
  3. Season with sea salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
  4. For best flavour, use it within a day or two. Carrot top chimichurri keeps at best for 4-5 days in the fridge.

Serve warm from the oven with a dollop of chimichurri on each portion, perhaps with crusty bread or a scattering of toasted seeds. It’s a humble meal, yes—but one that’s rich in flavour, texture, and care. A timeless combination of thrift and taste.

New Season Kohlrabi with an Apple and Toasted Walnut Salad

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Crisp, light, and full of bright, summery flavour, this Kohlrabi, Apple, and Walnut Salad is a true celebration of fresh seasonal produce. With its delightful crunch and subtle sweetness, it’s the perfect dish for warm days — whether served as a refreshing side or enjoyed all on its own.

Kohlrabi, the unsung hero of root vegetables, brings a mild, peppery crunch that’s somewhere between a radish and a broccoli stem — clean, juicy, and incredibly refreshing. When peeled and finely sliced or julienned, it forms the crisp backbone of this salad, offering both texture and bite. Paired with sweet, juicy apples — think tart green Granny Smiths or fragrant pink Fujis — the contrast is nothing short of perfect. The apples not only lend a lovely sweetness but also a slight tang that lifts the salad into something truly special.

To add richness and an earthy depth, toasted walnuts are scattered generously throughout. Their warm, nutty flavour and satisfying crunch bring balance to the lightness of the fruit and vegetables. A scattering of fresh herbs — parsley, mint, or a touch of dill — adds colour and brightness, enhancing the garden-fresh quality of the salad.

The dressing is deliberately simple, allowing the natural flavours to shine through: a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for zing, a touch of honey to echo the apples’ sweetness, and a pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper to round everything out. Optional extras like crumbled feta or a few shaved radishes can elevate it further, but the core trio of kohlrabi, apple, and walnut is more than enough to impress.

Quick to prepare and endlessly versatile, this salad is as at home at a summer picnic as it is on a dinner table. 

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New Season Kohlrabi with an Apple and Toasted Walnut Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: British/Mediterranean
Cuisine: Vegan
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 persons
 
Ingredients
  • Salad
  • 1 small kohlrabi, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • 1 crisp, red-skinned apple, cored and diced
  • 50g watercress or salad leaves
  • 40g walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
  • Dressing
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus extra for tweaking
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp light olive oil
  • 1 tbsp walnut oil, or use another 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Whisk the lemon juice and mustard together in a serving bowl, then whisk the oils in slowly until you have a thick emulsified dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste
  2. Add the kohlrabi, apple, walnuts and salad to the bowl. Mix well and serve immediately

 

Fresh Foraged Nettle Tagliatelle

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There’s something quietly magical about foraging for fresh young nettles in the golden hush of early spring. The earth is just beginning to stir from its winter slumber, and with the first blush of sunshine, tender green shoots begin to peek through the undergrowth. It’s the perfect time to wander through woodlands or along quiet country paths, fingers brushing over wild herbs and weeds, basket in hand, eyes alert for the unmistakable deep green of new nettles.

Gloves are a must, of course—nettles sting, even when they’re young—but there’s something deeply grounding in this ritual. It connects you to the season, to the land, to something older than any supermarket shelf. These early nettles are vibrant with nutrients, fresh and peppery in flavor, and once you blanch them, their sting softens into silk.

Back home, the transformation begins. Blanched nettles are wrung out, chopped fine, and kneaded into fresh pasta dough. The green stains your hands as you work, and the scent of fresh earth lingers in the air. Rolled and cut into delicate tagliatelle ribbons, the pasta takes on a soft, mossy hue—nature’s own color palette.

Boiled for just a moment and tossed with lemon zest, a pat of butter, or maybe some garlic and pecorino, nettle tagliatelle is a celebration of spring on a plate. It tastes of renewal, of simplicity, of wild things tamed just enough to nourish.

The joy isn’t just in the eating—it’s in the gathering, the making, the quiet hours spent in sunlight and steam. Foraging nettles in spring is not just about food, but about rhythm, presence, and the delicious satisfaction of coaxing a feast from the forest floor.


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Fresh Foraged Nettle Tagliatelle
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan
Cuisine: British Foraged Recipe
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 persons
 
Ingredients
  • 10 ounces all-purpose flour,
  • about 2 heaping cups

4½ ounces blanched nettles or spinach, about a cup
Instructions
  1. Depending on how old your nettles are, you will need two or three big tong-fulls of fresh nettles to get your 4 ounces. I say tong-fulls because you do not want to pick up fresh nettles, as they will sting you. Thus the name. Get a huge pot of water boiling and add a handful of salt. Grab the nettles with tongs and put them into the boiling water. Stir around and boil for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how old they are. Fish them out with a skimmer or the tongs and immediately dump them into a big bowl with ice water in it. Once they are cool, put them in a colander to strain.
  2. Remove any thick stems. Chop the nettles roughly. Puree the nettles with a little water in a blender. When you are done, add a little water into the bowl of the blender to help clean it out, but save the water -- you might need this "nettle water" if your dough is not moist enough.
  3. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the nettle puree and gradually incorporate it into the flour until you get a shaggy mass. If it's too stiff add a little of the nettle water. Start folding the dough over itself until it comes together, then begin kneading. This is a medium strength dough, so you’ll need to knead for 5 to 8 minutes.
  4. Cover the dough with a thin film of olive oil and wrap in plastic. Let it sit for an hour.
  5. Cut off a piece of the dough and roll it out in a pasta machine. How thick? Your choice. But the traditional width for strettine is relatively thick, about a little less than ⅛ inch. This corresponds to No. 5 on my machine, which is an Atlas.
  6. Once you have your sheet of pasta, you can cut it with the wide tines on your pasta cutter. That’s easy, but the real noodles are a little narrower. To hand cut your noodles, make sure the sheet is supple and cool, not sticky. If it is sticky, dust with a little flour and smooth it over the surface with your hand. Loosely roll the dough sheet up so that the slices you are about to make form long pasta. Using a sharp (it must be sharp, or you will be in trouble!) chef’s knife, cleaver or other large blade, slice the loose roll at intervals somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inches. Lay the pasta on the counter or board with some flour dusted on them. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
  7. After every little batch, pick up the previous one that had been drying and give it a slight twist, making it into a loose nest. This makes for easier storage. The strettine will sit like this for up to a day. Boil in lots of salty water until they float, and then for another minute or two.

 

Fresh Foraged Wild Nettle Pesto

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There’s something deeply satisfying—almost primal—about foraging for your own food on an early sunny spring day. The air is crisp, kissed by the scent of damp earth and new blooms, while golden sunlight filters through the young leaves above, dappling the ground in warm patches. Birds chatter overhead as you crouch down, brushing aside tufts of moss or tall blades of grass, eyes scanning for nature’s hidden treasures: wild garlic, dandelion greens, tender nettles, or violet petals.

Each find feels like a secret whispered from the land—gifts tucked away in plain sight. There’s a peaceful rhythm to it: the slow walk, the careful picking, the light rustle of your gathering bag. And when you lift your face to the sun, hands stained green and heart light, there’s a quiet sense of abundance that no grocery store can match. The food is free, yes—but more than that, it’s alive. It connects you to the season, to the land, to something older and wiser than modern convenience.

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Later, in your kitchen, that same wild garlic becomes a vibrant pesto, spooned over crusty bread or tossed with warm pasta. Nettles turn into a silky soup, full of iron and freshness. These meals are simple, but rich in flavor and story. You can taste the spring sun, feel the joy of discovery, and remember the gentle rustle of wind through budding trees. Foraging turns nourishment into a celebration—of health, of the earth, and of our place within it. It’s not just food; it’s a reminder that the best things in life are often the simplest, waiting quietly just beyond the path.

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Fresh Foraged Wild Nettle Pesto
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan
Cuisine: Foraged food
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 persons
 
Fresh made early spring wild nettle pesto
Ingredients
  • cups (loosely packed) fresh nettle leaves - be careful; always use gloves or tongs when handling nettle; it stings!
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • ⅓ cup toasted almonds*
  • 1 tbsp white miso
  • 1½ tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • 1-2 tbsp water
  • Optional: chili flakes
Instructions
  1. Always use gloves or tongs when handling fresh nettle - if you touch it with bare hands, it will sting and you will feel its effect for a few hours.
  2. Wearing gloves, wash the nettle under running water. In a food processor, combine the nettle, garlic, toasted almonds, miso, lemon juice (start with 1½ tablespoons) and nutritional yeast. Blend to combine.
  3. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Stop the machine to scrape down the sides as needed. Add water, one tablespoon at a time and continue blending until you get a creamy texture. Taste and add salt, more lemon juice and/or chili flakes if necessary until it’s flavourful and well balanced. Serve with pasta, in a sandwich, as a dip, etc.

 

Wild Garlic Pesto

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It’s getting around to my favourite time of the year when there is so much free food to forage for. I love making recipes with wild garlic and walking in woods where there is a huge abundance of it at this time of year. The heady smell in the early morning is intoxicating. I took this shot on a walk through a wood near Butler Hill in Hampshire in the heart of the Southdowns National Park not long after dawn. I have yet to come across anywhere else where the wild garlic is so proliferous. I always like to leave plenty behind for others to forage and to not destroy the crop and so damage it for next years growth but there is absolutely no problem with that here as you can see by the image. It’s absolutely everywhere. What a find!

Wild garlic boasts a nutritional value rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and copper. It also contains organosulphur compounds, phenolic compounds, steroidal glycosides, lectins, and a variety of essential amino acids, contributing to its garlic nutritional value.

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Wild Garlic Pesto
Author: 
Recipe type: Foraged
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 150g wild garlic leaves or young nettles, or a mixture (foraged – see tip)
  • 50g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • ½ lemon, zested and a few squeezes of juice
  • 50g pine nuts, toasted
  • 150ml rapeseed oil
Instructions
  1. STEP 1
  2. Rinse and roughly chop the wild garlic leaves.
  3. STEP 2
  4. Blitz the wild garlic leaves, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and pine nuts to a rough paste in a food processor. Season, and with the motor running slowly, add almost all the oil. Taste, season and add a few squeezes of lemon juice.
  5. STEP 3
  6. Transfer the pesto to a clean jar and top with the remaining oil. Will keep in the fridge for two weeks.

 

Borough Market

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The last of my shots from a very productive afternoon photographing in and around Borough Market in the heart of London. I was blessed with a beautiful late winter’s sunshine day. It almost felt like spring. I was amazed by the variety of produce from all over the world that was for sale. The guy who ran the tomato stall told me his produce was mainly from Spain but there were also varieties from Kenya and Uganda. The cheese shop specialized in cheeses mainly from right here in the UK but there were also varieties from France and Italy. The shop had a very heady aroma of fresh cheese. I wish however that we would all turn to produce grown right here in the UK and that we all ate seasonal vegetables. It would help our farmers no end and reduce the food miles of expecting to be able to eat everything all year round. Predictably the cost of all this pristine veg is eye waveringly high. I bought a kilo of heritage tomatoes and it cost me £6. I know these stall holders probably pay sky high prices for their pitches which influences their prices but I’m not convinced it’s a market where I would shop everyday for my fresh vegetables.

Roasted Butternut & Carrot Salad with Baby Leaves

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This to me is pure heaven on a plate. Roasted butternut squash, carrot, with baby leaf salad and sous sous. This has become a go to meal for me these days. Butternut squashes are very in season now as are carrots. Very simple to make. Just cut up the butternut squash into bite sized pieces and along withe the carrots, drizzle olive oil over them and sprinkle sea salt over them and roast in a hot oven until you see the tips of the veggies begin to char. Couscous is even easier to make. One cup of couscous in a bowl and add one cup of boiling water and leave to stand for around five minutes. Then fluff with a fork. iv’e added cherry tomatoes, red onion and baby leaf salad to complete this recipe. Quite often I also drizzle some French dressing over the salad for even more of a flavour hit but it’s delicious on it’s own.

ROASTED CARROT & LENTIL SALAD WITH GOATS CHEESE DRESSING

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Today I start a new article. I have been buying cookbooks for so long now that I have lost count of just how many books I have. Some books have been brilliant. Some okay and some quite frankly awful. My plan over the course of the month is to bring you recipes from one particular book then review the book as a whole at the end of each month. I will look at how easy it is to recreate the recipes and more importantly sticking with the theme of affordability with this blog, just how expensive my sample recipes cost me to make.


I am starting off this one with a roasted carrot and lentil salad with a goats cheese dressing. First of all what drew me to the recipe was the fact that there are only a few ingredients in the dish as a whole. Always a bonus here at Knobbly Plate. Next I looked at which meal it would fit into nicely and it seemed to me to be the perfect lunch dish. I also looked at how adaptable to the ingredients I had in the house at the time as to whether or not it would be possible to recreate the dish on a whim.

So what did I change about the recipe? first of all I did not have honey for the carrots so I made do without it. I did however drizzle some balsamic vinegar over them. Secondly instead of flatbread I had just made a loaf of honey and seed bread so I ripped up some of that. Other than those two things I pretty much followed the instructions.

How did it taste you ask? Well rather nice actually. I love lentils at the best of times and coupled with fresh organic carrots it made a wonderfully filling salad. So here is the salad with a big thank you toRiverford Organics  not just for the veg but for the recipe from their book. Everyday & Sunday.


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ROASTED CARROT & LENTIL SALAD WITH GOATS CHEESE DRESSING
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: British
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • ½ Red Onion
  • 1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 Bunch of New Season Carrots
  • 2 tbs Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Honey
  • 3 tbs Cooked Puy Lentils
  • 1 Garlic Clove Crushed
  • 2 Pitta Breads
  • Bunch Watercress
  • 100g Goats Cheese
  • 50ml Milk
  • ½ Lemon Squeezed
Instructions
  1. For the Salad
  2. Soak the red onion in the red wine vinegar and toss the carrots in olive oil and honey. Roast the carrots in a hot oven until soft.
  3. Toss the carrots with the cooked lentils, chopped red onion and crushed garlic.
  4. Rip the bread into small peices and toast in the oven for 5 mins..
  5. In a large bowl toss all the ingredients together along with the dressing and serve.
  6. For the Goats Cheese Dressing
  7. Gently heat the cheese with the milk until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

 

AFFORDABLE PESTO BUTTERBEAN SALAD

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First of all, many thanks to Deliciously Ella for the inspiration for this recipe. She has an amazing food blog. I liked the look of her pesto butter bean salad right from the start but I also knew that with my tight family budget it was probably just a little out of the reach of my pocket so I set about making a few changes that would mean I would get to try this dish.

I think one of the main elements of her dish, the pesto was probably just too expensive for me to make fresh. Pine nuts and Parmesan cheese are quite expensive items to purchase. I know the cheese goes a long way but when you only have so much to spend in one week then you have to stick to that. I decided therefore that the first change to her recipe should be that I buy a jar of pesto. Now you can buy very cheap pesto which has little extra virgin olive oil in it or spend a little bit more on a jar that has better ingredients in it. Either way it will still be cheaper than making your own fresh pesto, though we would all love to have the fresh variety.

My second change to her recipe was to buy a packet of dried butter beans rather than tins of butter beans. I know they are a faff to prepare having to soak them overnight and boil them for what seems like forever but you rally do get so much more for your money. One 500g packet of butter beans will produce at least 10 portions for the same price as a single tin of ready made beans. I also bought a snack pack of pomegranate seeds for half the price of a single whole fruit and found it was enough to make the same dish again with or to use in another dish.

Finally I still had some organic carrots left over from my veg box scheme that I use from Riverford Organics so I decided to roast them and add them to the dish for two reasons really. First I felt they would add a sweetness to the dish that would contrast well with the other Mediterranean flavours and also if I’m honest I’m a hungry eater so I wanted more to eat for my evening meal.

All in all I think with these simple changes I have not compromised on the flavours of the dish and I reckon I have cut the cost of making the dish by at least half.


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AFFORDABLE PESTO BUTTERBEAN SALAD
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: British
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Jar of Green Pesto
  • 100g Dried Butter Beans
  • ½ Bag of Rocket
  • 1 Lemon
  • Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp Pomegranate Seeds
  • 2 tsp Pumpkin Seeds
  • 1 Lemon
  • 6 small Carrots
Instructions
  1. Soak the butter beans overnight and then cook according to packet instructions. Usually Boil for 10 mins and then Simmer for 30mins.
  2. Toss the butter beans in half the jar of pesto and set aside for 30 mins to let the beans take on the flavour of the pesto.
  3. Meanwhile quarter the carrots length ways and drizzle over some olive oil and roast in a hot oven until slightly charred.
  4. Mix up all the other salad ingredients and arrange on a plate.
  5. Top with the butter bean mixture and scatter the roasted carrots on top.
  6. Squeeze a lemon over the salad to dress and season with salt and pepper.

 

 

BEAN BULGUR SALAD WITH PESTO

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Here we go again. Great tasting, healthy food at an affordable price. Today it’s a vegan dish. I know all you meat lovers are groaning in horror now but trust me this tasts fresh and amazing with all it’s different nuggets of juiciness. The inspiration for this dish came from Holy Cow’s Blog. With a few simple changes to her wonderful recipe idea I have brought this into the realms of affordable vegetarian eating.


The main thing I changed was that instead of making the pesto with all those expensive ingredients I simply bought a jar of good quality pesto. Not only did this do me for the recipe but it also meant that there was enough for a spaghetti lunch the next day as well. The next change I made was I bought a tin of mango pieces in natural juice. The difference was nearly a £1 for that item alone and meant that I also had enough mango left over to put on my breakfast cereal the very next morning for a treat. lastly and I do this every time. 500g of dried borlotti beans will cost you the same as a tin of ready made ones. Form the tin you will get one portion. From the bag of dried beans you will get at least half a dozen. You just have to soak them overnight then boil them for 40 mins until soft and plump. No real hardship there.


So what did the whole dish cost. Here is a full breakdown of the ingredients and what they cost me

  • Borlotti beans 52p
  • Pesto 25p
  • Baby Spinach 25p
  • Tinned Mango 40p
  • Red Onion 18p
  • Feta 22p
  • Bulgur Wheat 66p

Now I know that those prices are per portion used but there is nothing on that list that will perish in a day or so. So you can utilise the leftovers in plenty of other dishes. I would suggest a nice wrap with lots of the salad and a spicy dressing. I used a wasabi and ginger dressing to make the wraps the next day. So adding all those ingredients up the salad will cost you £2.48 for 4 people. Thats’s an amazing 62p per plate with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.


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BEAN BULGUR SALAD WITH PESTO
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 480g cooked borlotti beans
  • 200g Bulgur Wheat
  • 1 Red Onion Diced Finely
  • Handful of Baby Spinach
  • ½ Can Mango Slices Diced
  • 2 Tomatoes Diced
  • ¼ Jar Pesto Sauce
  • 100g Crumbled Feta Cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook the bulgur wheat as per packet instructions.
  2. Mix all the other ingredients together.
  3. When the bulgar wheat has cooled add it to the mixture.
  4. Stir in the pesto sauce and serve.