Stems and All

My journey to buy less, consume smart, use what's there.

Cooking with carrots: making juice, soup stock and pesto – Part III

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Stems and All:
Part I
Part II
Part III

I had reserved the green carrot tops from our first juice experiment, and I wanted to see what I could come up with.

I used to toss the green tops of the carrots into the compost. But I had read that these were totally nutritional and could be eaten. They are actually rich in protein, minerals and vitamins, including lots of potassium.

THE PESTO:
Here’s the final topper of our first ‘stems and all’ juice experience. Try this nice pesto on top of any variety of foods…

Ingredients:
– 2 cloves of minced garlic (adjust for personal taste)
– ½ cup of any nut, toasted (almonds, hazelnuts, and pine nuts are just a few that could work)
– 1 bunch of washed and dried carrot tops
– Lemon juice, to taste
– ½ tablespoon honey or other sweetener such as molasses (optional)
– 1 cup olive oil – more or less might need to be added once you blend this
– Salt to taste

1.) Put the first 5 ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse/blend until blended
2.) Slowly start to add the olive oil, drizzling in as needed until you have the consistency that you like
3.) Add as a topping to any of the following, or create your own idea: pasta, eggs, toast

TIPS:
– The pesto can be frozen into smaller glass sealable containers, and taken out later as a tasty topping for any variety of things!

Author: Jane Newcomb

“Stems and All” is my personal journey to become a more environmentally responsible human, live a more sustainable life, and practice sustainable consuming habits.

2 Comments

  1. The pesto from the carrot tops was surprisingly good. I always thought you had to use basil for pesto but now I’m a believer in using the carrot tops. It was cheaper, tasted just as good and wasted nothing!

    Thank you, Jane — Stems and all!

  2. Hey it’s nice to join this community and it’s good to have a digital family here 😛

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