Next time you get a bunch of fresh carrots from the farmers markets or from your garden, don’t throw out the tops; give them new life as an amazing pesto! Spicy and packed full of flavor, this pesto is a perfect zero waste recipe.
The glorious Italian invention of pesto has to be one of the best things to do with all fresh green things. I always thought that pesto had to be made from basil, but the method of pounding or blitzing flower-filled herbs with salt + pepper, olive oil, and garlic can be applied to so many more things, with the same great taste!
WHAT YOU NEED
A bunch of bright green carrot tops, washed and rough chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Blender
2 tablespoons of nuts (either sunflower seeds, almonds, or pine nuts)
Optional: hard cheese
WHAT YOU DO
Pop all the ingredients in a blender with a generous amount of the olive oil, and blitz until its a bright green chunky pesto.
Grate in some hard cheese like parmesan (you can either skip or use a tablespoon of nutritional yeast if you are vegan), and then continue to blitz away.
Check if you need to add extra oil as you go, to get to the delicious consistency of pesto, or some lemon juice and/or fresh chili if you want a bit of extra kick.
Pop the pesto in a hot sterilized jar and cover the top with a bit of extra oil. Store in the fridge and enjoy on toast, pasta, salads, and everything else for weeks!