Originally posted by Sarah – July 17, 2015
The flower share has begun! A great way to brighten up your tables full with Springdell fresh meals. You will start to see our beautiful flowers featured in our posts too!
Now a word from Sarah…
The Buzz around the Dell is definitely how people are choosing to use their carrot top greens, specifically making carrot top pesto. So, of course here at CSA365 we had to show you how we use our greens, we love to share options with you. In the past Jess has used her greens for carrot top tea, click on it and check it out! I decided to stray from the standard pesto and change things up with some not so traditional pesto ingredients. Here is what I did:
Cut the carrot greens from the carrots, give them a wash and pinch off any greens that are not at their best. I also added a small handful of cilantro that I grew in my garden.
Zest one whole orange and one whole lime. Then add the juice from the whole orange. You are not using the lime juice, save that for a smoothie or another recipe. Mince 2 cloves of fresh garlic and add that to the mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Next, toast up a handful of almonds in a dry pan. Toasting nuts gives way more flavor to a dish. Be careful to stay with the nuts, they can burn in a matter of seconds. The traditional nut is a pine nut, which are delicious but there are many other options. I know walnuts are also often used, but they are not a favorite nut of mine. I love to use pistachios in pesto!
Zip that all together in a food processor or pulse in a blender. You can make it a smooth consistency for using on pasta, but tonight I chose to keep mine more on the chunky side and used it to top off steak tips. Either way, hand mix some grated parmesean cheese into this and it is so delicious!
Did you know that pesto freezes well? I put it in small containers and stick them in the deep freeze. A nice change of pace when you pull one out in the middle of winter. Enjoy!
- 1 cup lightly packed carrot leaves (stems removed)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts (tossed around quickly and constantly in a pan for about a minute, until fragrant)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 6 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Zip this through the blender or food processor as Sarah did above (I usually drizzle in the EVOO as I blend, stopping when it hits the consistency I want it to be).