Carrot Top Pesto

Yup, you read that right...carrot top pesto.  I've never really been a fan of pesto.  Growing up, pasta sauces came in either red or white, never green.  Plus, I really like a thick sauce that you can drown your penne in.  That's not really an option with pesto, so I never jumped on the pesto bandwagon.

This recipe hasn't made me do a 180 where pesto is concerned.  However, I do like adding to my arsenal of recipes and I don't like to be wasteful.  Now I can buy carrots with greens attached at the farmer's market and they might just find their way into the food processor instead of the trash bin.

The farmer's market is actually where I heard about this recipe.  I was eavesdropping on the woman in line in front of me.  I didn't have much choice, there is not much personal space at a crowded produce table and I was waiting to pay for my arugula. I don't remember if the carrot purchaser asked if there was something she could do with carrot greens or if the info was randomly volunteered, but I walked away with the need to investigate further.

I found more recipes than I would have thought were out there, but they all followed a pretty basic set of ingredients.  They all contained some sort of nut, either basil or parsley, and olive oil.  What really got me interested was the variety of nut choices.  I always though of pesto as strictly calling for pine nuts, but with the carrot greens pesto some people people suggested not only pine nuts, but also almonds, macadamias, or even cashews.  I settled on a recipe with cashews because I have a thing for them. It's the nut I always save for last when eating mixed nuts.

Carrot Top Pesto

Ingredients:

1 c. carrot leaves

1/2 c. fresh parsley leaves

1/4 c. unsalted roasted cashews

1 clove garlic

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

salt to taste

Directions:

Pick the leaves from the larger stems of the carrot greens, until you have 1 cup.  Press down the leaves a pit in the measuring cup as you add them, you want a full cup of leaves.

Once you have the leaves from the carrots and the leaves from the parsley, add them to a food processor with the cashews and garlic.

Grind ingredients together with about 7 to 10 pulses or until coarsely ground.  

Turn the processor on and slowly add the olive oil.  Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse until incorporated.  Salt to taste.

Now I will freely admit to not having the world's best processor, so my version is probably a bit coarser than what other people might get in the end.  Regardless of how it turns out, it makes a great addition to your favorite pasta.