Save money making a carrot top pesto with those beautiful carrot tops that would have otherwise ended up in the trash!
Course Sauce
Cuisine Italian
Keyword carrot top pesto, sauce
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 6People
Calories 151kcal
Ingredients
Sauce
1CupCarrot Top LeavesTightly packed cup and roughly chopped
1/2CupPine Nuts
1/4CupNutritional Yeast
1TeaspoonGarlicFinely Chopped
1/4TeaspoonSalt
1TablespoonLemon Juice
1/4CupOlive OilExtra virgin
For The Pasta
1PackageSpaghetti16 ounces
1/2Cup Pasta WaterReserved
Instructions
Sauce
Dry-toast the pine nuts by heating a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts, tossing continuously, until the nuts are toasted and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
To a food processor, add the carrot tops, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt and lemon juice. Pulse until roughly chopped and incorporated together. Add in the olive oil, and turn the food processor on continuously until everything is incorporated and you have an only slightly chunky, not quite smooth mixture.
If the mixture sticks to the sides of the food processor, use a spatula to scrape down the sides, and pulse again, so everything is evenly mixed.
Spaghetti
Cook pasta as per package instructions, reserving 1/2-1 cup of pasta water.
After reserving the pasta water, drain the pasta. In the pot, add 1/2 cup of pasta water, and 1 recipe of the Carrot Top Pesto. Whisk to combine.
Add the drained spaghetti back into the pan, and toss to coat the noodles. If the sauce is still too tight, and not distributing evenly, add more reserved pasta water.
Garnish with fresh carrot top leaves and enjoy!
Notes
The calories per serving are for the pesto only. With the spaghetti added in, the calorie count for the meal is 421.