I’m currently swimming in carrot tops.

The farm I work with recently sold a good 30 pounds of baby carrots they had been growing to a woman to make carrot kraut (which I realize sounds strange, but it’s really quite good). All of the greens were trimmed before they sent them off, so I was called to ask if I wanted any.

I did; I did indeed.

While I only took less than half (the rest I gave to a friend of mine who has chickens that simply love them), I still have a large bulging brown paper bag full of dirt speckled greens. Since picking up them earlier this week, I’ve now acquired several more pounds of other mixed greens but that’s a story for another day and another post…

I enjoy making use of “waste”, or at very least, I enjoy trying to make use of as much as possible to produce as little waste as possible. Carrot tops, turnip greens, beet leaves, strawberry leaves- they’re all perfectly edible and are fantastic sources of vitamins and minerals. This week has been a week full of green carrot top smoothies and minced carrot top leaves in salads. While I pack a lot into my smoothies I started making pesto to try and cut down the supply before they go bad.

This pesto would make a great sauce over top of veggies but also is fantastic as just a pesto with pasta!

Carrot Top Pesto

½ Cup Packed Carrots Tops (“leaves” only- try to trim the stem portion off)
1 Garlic Cove
¼ Cup Pine Nuts
1/3 Cup Walnut Oil
¼ Cup Shredded Pecorino Cheese
Salt

Add carrot tops (really pack them into that measuring cup!), garlic and pine nuts into a food processor and process until everything is broken down evenly. Stream in the walnut oil and add a pinch of salt. Purée again until smooth. Taste the pesto and add more salt as needed.