Carrot Top Pesto

PREP TIME 10 mins 
COOK TIME 0 minutes
TOTAL TIME 10 mins 
YIELD 1 cup

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Ingredients

• 1 cup packed carrot top greens, remove tough stems

• 1 cup packed basil leaves

• 1 large garlic or 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews (soaked overnight)

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Equipment and Tools

• Food processor

• Rubber Spatula

Steps:

1. Prep the carrot tops: Rinse the carrot top greens to dislodge any dirt. Pick out and discard any dry, yellowed, or otherwise unappetizing looking leaves. Discard tough stems. 

2. Pulse greens, garlic, soaked cashews, salt, pepper in food processor. Pulse several times. Scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula.

3. Slowly add the olive oil and occasionally scrape the sides down with the rubber spatula. Pulse until smooth.

4. Enjoy!

Carrot tops are high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium. Carrots are in the same family as parsnips, cilantro, fennel, and parsley (apiaceae). It shouldn’t be surprising that carrot greens can be a yummy replacement for parsley in recipes. So don’t throw away those carrot tops, give them a good rinse and throw out the unappetizing leaves. Younger carrots will have milder tasting leaves than those from older carrots.