If you ever saw Bugs Bunny, you know about the long, lacy green tops of carrots that give you a handle to pull them out of the ground (unless the wildlife ate them). I used to compost the greens because I didn’t realize they were edible. This week I finally tried a carrot-top pesto from A Girl and Her Greens.[1] The pesto has basil in it and the basil flavor is stronger than the carrot-top flavor so it doesn’t taste different from regular pesto – maybe only slightly grassier.
You must buy organic carrots because carrot farmers are probably going to assume most people do not eat the greens and will more liberally apply pesticides. Also, since some wild plants that resemble carrots have poisonous leaves, you want to be sure you’re eating the right greens. I haven’t found any research on carrot tops yet to cite other reliable nutritional and health benefits, but you obviously get all of the nutritional benefits of eating leafy greens, like chlorophyll and potassium.
I bought ravioli from the refrigerator section of the grocery store and used one cup of carrot pesto with 1/3 cup olive oil. It would have been better to add the additional olive oil while making the pesto in the food processor because it didn’t incorporate as well adding it the next day.
Carrot-Top Pesto
Leaves and tender stems from 1.5-2 lbs of organic carrots
1 t flake sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
1 peeled clove garlic
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/4 C basil leaves
1/4 C grated parmesan
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Pulse ingredients in a food processor until coarsely ground. Drizzle in olive oil; purée into a smooth pesto.
[1] “A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden,” April Bloomfield, Ecco, 2015.
