Roasted Carrots with Carrot-top Pesto

When you buy fresh carrots from the farmer’s market or the grocery store, the tops often get tossed. Save them from the landfill by making flavorful pesto, to go with roasted carrots or crudité. If you don’t have enough carrot-tops (about 2 ½ cups) for the recipe below, you can just add less oil and garlic. Or add fresh basil to complement the flavor of carrot-tops.

Ingredients

3 lbs garden carrots with tops
1 Tbsp + 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp pine nuts, almonds, or pumpkin seeds
3 cloves garlic
1 lemon, juiced

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut tops off carrots and set aside.
Toss carrots in 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay on baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake carrots for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.
While carrots are roasting, combine nuts and garlic in food processor and blend until a paste forms.
Add carrot tops (approximately 2 ½ cups), remaining ½ cup olive oil and lemon juice and puree until smooth. Season with salt.
Toss roasted carrots with carrot-top pesto.
Alternatively, skip roasting carrots and use pesto as a dip to serve with raw carrots. Or spiralizer carrots and toss in pesto for a vegetable pasta.