Carrot Top Pesto Pasta
Bright green, slightly bitter organic carrot tops make their debut in this simple, easy and colourful pasta dish. You can make this pesto using just carrot tops or with an addition of some parsley. Pine nuts are my favourite seed to use, but really any nut will work. So, take advantage of these greens chock-full of vitamins and minerals the next time you harvest carrots.
YIELD : 5-1ΒΌ cup servings
Equipment
- Mini food processor
Ingredients
- 1Β½ cup organically grown carrot tops tightly packed, rinsed and dried
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- Β½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Β½ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Β½ cup pine nuts or cashews or your favourite nut
- ΒΌ teaspoon salt
- ΒΌ teaspoon pepper
- Β½ cup of the pasta cooking water
- 6 cups cooked spaghetti or penne pasta
- 1 whole lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
Cook the pasta:
- Cook the pasta in boiling water which has been salted with one tablespoon of kosher salt for 8-10 minutes.
- Reserve Β½ cup of the pasta cooking water.
Make the pesto:
- To the mini food processor add carrot tops, garlic, and pine nuts. Pulse until chopped.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Blend until creamy. Taste and adjust the flavour by adding additional lemon juice, salt and pepper, if desired.
- Add the pasta cooking water to the pesto. Stir to combine and top the cooked pasta with the pesto.
- Serve warm with a wedge of lemon, a nice slice of buttered fresh bread and a glass of wine!
Notes
This pasta tastes excellent served with grilled shrimp!
Nutrition
Serving: 1ΒΌ-cup of pasta with sauceCalories: 605kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 16gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 272mgPotassium: 167mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 87IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 186mgIron: 5mg
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