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Whenever I get carrots with the greens still attached, I make a vegan carrot top pesto to use in pastas, salads, or on roasted vegetables during the week. Carrot tops greens taste like parsley’s earthy-cousin which lends itself to be pretty versatile. This pesto will have an earthier texture and flavor but with the help of pasta water, this pesto will perfectly stick to any short pasta.
Use the carrots to make our Roasted Carrot Harissa Soup!
Details
Recipe
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups carrot top greens, tender leaves only
- 3 ounces basil leaves
- 1/ 3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/ 4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/ 2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Coarsely cracked black pepper, to taste
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400˚F
Step 2
Slice the top off of the garlic head and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until very soft and caramelized. Allow to cool before squeezing to remove garlic.
Step 3
To a food processor or blender add carrot greens, basil, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, roasted garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, adjust seasoning to taste and store in an airtight container.