We have loved getting a box of fresh vegetables every week with our CSA membership. It’s such a great way to reduce waste and support local farming. We get carrots often and usually get the carrot top greens as well. The greens are beautiful and we feel terrible just throwing them out so we often use them to make a delicious carrot top pesto.

There are so many variations on pesto that we’ve tried. The most traditional Italian pesto is hand chopped and contains basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil. This definitely produces a deliciously bright pesto, but pine nuts can be pricey and basil is not the only herb that lends itself well to a pesto. You can use parsley, arugula, spinach, and of course, carrot tops, and still get a delicious pesto.

The same approach can be applied to the nuts. Pine nuts have a great nutty flavor, but thy are expensive and sometimes hard to find. You can experiment with different options, but we’ve tried pesto with walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts in the past and they’ve turned out great. I definitely encourage you to toast whatever type of nuts you opt for, as this really helps to bring out their flavor.

In this particular recipe, we opted for half carrot tops and half basil and walnuts. The remainder of the ingredients stay the same – including the olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. You can hand chop these ingredients, for the most traditional Italian grandma approved pesto, or you can make it easy and use a food processor or blender. We use this mini food processor for jobs like this and it works wonderfully.

Serve it over your favorite pasta, some gnocchi, or even as a marinade for shrimp or chicken. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Carrot Top Walnut Pesto

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Servings: 1 Cup

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 Cup Carrot Tops
• 1 Cup Fresh Basil
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1/3 Cup Walnuts Or other nuts of your choice
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Method

 

1. Add your walnuts to a small saucepan over low-medium heat and toast for about 5-7 minutes or until gently browned. Shake the pan every 30 seconds or so to prevent them from burning. Remove from heat and set aside. 
2. Add the toasted nuts along with the remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper to your food processor or blender. 
3. Pulse lightly until the ingredients are well incorporated. 
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Store in an airtight jar for up to 1 week in the fridge.