Carrot Top Pesto
This is not your typical pesto, but it is one of my favourites. Do you ever see those "fancy" carrots with their green leafy tops attached? Well, those leaves are not only perfectly edible, they are healthy!
Carrot top leaves contain vitamin C, K, potassium, magnesmium and fibre. They're a great addition to a pesto and by blanching them very briefly helps to mellow their slightly bitter flavour. You can add them to a variety of green sauces but a classic use is in an unconventional pesto - use this on pasta or as a veggie dip - it's absolutely deliciuos!
Ingredients
1 clove garlic chopped
2 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 of a lemon)
1 tsp fresh lemon zest (about 1/2 of a lemon)
Carrot tops from 1 large or 2 smaller bunches of carrots (yields 1 cup blanched)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup almonds
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put a pot of water on to boil and prepare an ice bath - that's literally a separate bowl with lots of ice and water
Thoroughly wash and pick off the leaves and some of the smaller stems from the carrot tops
Place the carrot top leaves in the boiling water for one minute until they're bright green
Then quickly strain the leaves and immediately put into the ice bath to stop the cooking process
Put the nuts and carlic in a food processsor (or mini chopper if you have one) and blitz until you get a crumbly mixture
Then add all the remaining ingredients and blitz until you get to your desired texture. You can use water (or more oil if you're feeling decadent) to thin out the pesto if necessaey
Place in a clean jar and top with a little oil to cover the pesto sauce and keep it fresh. It should keen for 3-4 days