Carrot Top Pesto

Photos, recipe, and pottery by Allie Stack.

Allie Stack is an Asheville based ceramic artist who makes functional, brightly colored pottery with whimsical drawings often depicting items from our daily lives. To learn more about her, visit her website at: www.alliestackeramics.com and find her on instagram at: @allie.stack   

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of carrot tops 

• ½ cup roasted unsalted cashews 

• ½ cup grated parmesan 

• ½ cup herbs - I used basil but any combination of herbs would work ½ cup olive oil 

• Zest and juice of one lemon 

• Salt and Pepper 

Directions

1. Thoroughly rinse and dry carrot tops, then coarsely chop 

2. Add carrot tops to food processor and pulse a few times, until the greens are fairly broken down 

3. Add cashews and pulse a couple times 

4. Add basil parm, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice and pulse a few more times

5. Then, while pulsing, steam in the olive oil until fully incorporated

That’s it! I made extra and froze some in these reusable silicone molds I have (see photo). That way I can pop one out and use it for a number of things - pastas, quiche, sauces, etc. 

For the rest of the pesto, I made a classic pesto pasta! Boil the pasta and toss with the pesto!