Carrot Top Pesto Pasta turns carrot greens into a savory pesto sauce. Sauteed mushrooms with sun dried tomatoes and garlic add texture and flavor. Toss it all with your favorite pasta!
Carrot tops in recipes? Sure, why not?
I planted carrots in my garden this year. If you grow carrots or any root vegetable from seed you know it needs to be thinned. So I thought what do you do with those tender shoots?
I could compost it. Let them dry out and use it for mulch. Could I eat the shoots? What would it taste like? Would you believe carrots?
Microgreens are shoots. Carrot tops like microgreens concentrate nutrients in these tiny packages. Win, win!
For this version of pesto I left out basil. You can add basil if you like!
Lime juice replaces traditional lemon in this pesto. Greens, garlic, lime and Parmesan. Together it’s a combo I know you’ll love.
Carrot Top Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta (noodles, shells, elbows, penne)
- 1 cup sliced portabella mushrooms
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
pesto
- 1 cup carrot greens
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to label directions. Drain.
- Soak sun dried tomatoes in water for 15 to 30 minutes to rehydrate.
pesto
- Grind together garlic and carrot top until well chopped. Add lime juice and zest. Grind. Add cheese and pulse to form a paste. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil.
sauce
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil to a shimmer, about a minute. Add mushrooms and rehydrated tomatoes. Saute until mushrooms are thotoughly cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add pesto and thoroughly heat. Toss with pasta. Add a few drops more of oil if needed. Garnish with shredded Parmesan and carrot fronds.
