Carrots and carrot top pesto

Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

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This rainbow roasted carrot dish with carrot top pesto packs so much color and flavor in a side dish, it might just be the star of the meal! Somewhere between summer and fall, this dish encapsulates both seasons with ease. Peak season carrots are surrounded by fresh lemony basil, carrot top greens, and creamy cashews making for a timeless side dish effortlessly accompanying just about anything! For this recipe, I have chosen to only use the carrot top leaves. While you can use the carrot top stems, they have a lot more fiber than the leaves and are harder to digest by those with IBD. If your store or the local market doesn’t have rainbow carrots, regular ones will work just as well, and the tops will taste the same. I always look forward to having this dish in my late summer early fall rotation, and after trying it, I know you will too! Bon Appetit friends!

Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

Serves 4
Prep: 25 min
Cooking: 20 min
Total:  45 min
Beginner

Ingredients:

For the Carrots: 

2 Lbs. rainbow carrots with tops, peeled, tops reserved 

1 Tbsp. olive oil

¼ tsp. salt 

⅛ tsp. black pepper   

 

For the Pesto:   

1 ½ cups carrot tops, cleaned and roughly chopped 

½ cup spinach 

½ cup basil, fresh 

4 cloves of garlic, peeled  

½ cup cashews, unroasted and unsalted, soaked  

â…“ cup olive oil

½ tsp. salt 

¼ tsp. black pepper  

  Method Of Prep:

  1. Gather and prep ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Wash carrots, chop off the tops and set them aside.
  3. Peel carrots and place them in a large bowl.
  4. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to the bowl with carrots. Toss to evenly coat.
  5. Place carrots on a sheet tray in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender and cooked through.
  6. While carrots are roasting make the carrot top pesto.
  7. Bring about 2 cups of water or enough to cover the cashews to a boil, and place cashews in a bowl.
  8. Pour boiling water over the cashews and let sit for 10 minutes.
  9. While cashews are soaking, set up your high-speed blender with the standard blade attachment.
  10. Pick the leaves off the carrot top stems, discard stems. Add in carrot top leaves, spinach, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  11. Drain cashews and add them into the blender.
  12. Blend everything on high until smooth. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides occasionally until it all comes together, set pesto aside.
  13. Once carrots are roasted, remove them from the oven and place them on your serving dish.
  14. Pour the pesto on top, and serve immediately. Enjoy! 

                                     

Nutrition Facts: 
Calories- 350
Carbs- 18.8 g
Fat- 28 g
Protein- 7 g