A few weeks ago we harvested some lovely petite carrots with gorgeous wispy green tops from the garden. I knew that the greens were edible but I had never made anything with them before. So often when we buy produce in the grocery store or farmers market they come without any of these addition goodies so we don’t get the chance to work with them in our cooking. I could have simply mixed them in with some salad greens but I thought it would be more fun to create something a bit different with them! Pesto :)

This pesto was delicious on pasta! My kids and I gobbled it up and they even asked for seconds. We used the leftover as a dip for chips.

If you don’t have carrot tops, get creative with your own combination! Pesto is a fantastic thing to make because there are endless variations, so have fun with it!

Carrot Top & Spinach Pesto Recipe

THE INGREDIENTS

1 cup lightly packed carrot tops (washed, stems removed)
1 cup lightly packed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 toasted walnuts - lightly toasted
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil ( I used about 3/4 cup)
Salt & pepper to taste

THE PREPERATION

Place all the ingredients except olive oil and salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse to combine and mince the ingredients.
With the food processor on, slowly add in the olive oil, checking the consistency after about 1/2 cup.
Add in additional olive oil as desired and salt and pepper to taste.

The consistency of this pesto can be slightly grainy by itself when you are taste testing it, but don’t worry… It disappears when you add it to pasta or use it as a dip for chips like we did.