Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Carrot tops from one bunch of Carrots, about 2 cups
- 1/4 cup of Walnuts (make sure they are unsalted)
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon of Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of Pepper
- 1 clove of Garlic
- 1/4 cup of Avocado or Olive Oil (may need more, see notes)
Instructions
- Remove the leaves of the carrot tops from their stems, and either discard stems or save for using in stock.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese until you have 1/4 cup. It's ok if you have a little more than that!
- Place the carrot tops, 1/4 cup of walnuts, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, the peeled clove of garlic, and the 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to break things up a little.
- Then, with the food processor running, slowly add the oil until it makes a thick paste. It should take around 1/4 of oil to achieve the desired consistency.
- The pesto is ready to use! This is wonderful tossed with these rainbow carrots.
Notes
You may need a little more oil than what is called for in the recipe. Once you have added a 1/4 of a cup, add one tablespoon at a time until the pesto has a consistency that is not terribly thick but not overly oily.
Use any extra carrot tops in a salad, stock, or in place of lettuce on a sandwich.
This pesto is also great on roasted carrots, stirred into soup or tossed with pasta!
Feel free to add a few fresh basil leaves to this if you like.
Your carrot tops should be a nice bright to dark green color with no browning or wilting. The greens should not feel dry either.
Be sure to remove the green leaves from the stems of the carrot tops. The stems don't break down well in the food processor, making the pesto chewy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Additional Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Category: Sauces and Condiments
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 83
- Sugar: 1
- Sodium: 173
- Fat: 7
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 3
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 4