Pesto Made with Carrot Tops

Don't throw out leafy green carrot tops. Use them to make a tasty pesto sauce perfect for topping pasta or as a dip.

An abundant carrot harvest this year has given me a lot of carrot tops. I've thrown them away in the past, always wondering if there was something I use them for.

There is! Carrot tops are edible; you could add them to a salad if you wanted. 

What I prefer to do is use them to make pesto. I make a big batch and freeze so I can have pesto to eat all year.

Pesto is traditionally made with basil, and if you have fresh basil, you can use it along with the carrot tops. The first time I made it, I did a mix of the two, but in Florida the seasons for carrots and basil don't overlap much.

Ingredients for Carrot Top Pesto

• Carrot Tops (and basil if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup Nuts for each cup of carrot tops (Pinenuts are traditional for pesto, but I use less expensive walnuts. Pecans are also good. If you have an abundance of a nut, try it.)
• Salt to taste
• Garlic to taste (a clove can be chopped up with everything else; fresh garlic bothers my stomach, so I use garlic powder)
• Lemon juice to taste
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil for each cup of carrot tops
• Hard cheese such as Parmesean or romano to taste

To Make the Pesto

1. Remove the leafy parts of the carrot tops from the larger stems. Wash and drain. Pat dry to remove as much water as possible.
2. Put nuts in the bowl of a large food processor and pulse to chop up. Add in as many of the carrot tops as will fit, then pulse to break up. Scrape the bowl of the processor, and add more carrot tops. Pulse several times. If using fresh garlic, add it now.
3. Once everything is finely chopped, add the salt, lemon juice, and garlic powder (if not using fresh garlic).
4. Turn the processor on high and let it run. Through the tube, slowly add the olive oil, a few tablespoons at a time. Check the consistency and add more oil. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. 
5. Continue processing, adding oil a few tablespoons at a time, until reaching desired consistency.
6. If you are going to eat the pesto immediately, add the cheese now, and process to distribute it. Serve over warm pasta. If you are going to freeze the pesto for later use, do not add cheese, and follow steps below.

To Freeze the Pesto

1. I use an old ice cube tray, and fill each compartment with the pesto. 
2. Place it in the freezer until frozen, several hours or overnight. 
3. To remove from tray, run a dull knife (such as a table knife) around the edge of each cube to help release it, and store in a freezer bag until needed.

To Use Frozen Pesto

1. When ready to use, pull out the number of cubes needed. (I find 3-4 work good for one serving). 
2. Put in a pan over low heat. 
3. As they thaw, stir and add more olive oil if needed. 
4. When heated through, stir in grated hard cheese of your choice. Serve over warm pasta, or use as a dip.

Click below to watch the video of me making pesto with carrot tops.

Want More Ideas for Cooking with Scraps?

Don't throw out what you can use! You can find more recipes and ideas in the Cooking with Scraps label.

Orange Peel Tea - Cooking With Scraps

Don't throw out orange peels. Chop them up and make a tea that is filled with Vitamin C and is thought to be good for your digestion.

When you peel an orange, what happens to the peel? Maybe you make orange marmalade or candied orange peel, but how much of those do you use?

Perhaps you put the in your compost pile. That is great, but I have something you can do with them before composting.

Make orange peel tea.

Easy to do and requires little hands-on time.

There is more vitamin C in orange peel than the fruit. The tea is also thought to benefit your digestive system.

You can also use tangerine/mandarin orange peel.

Here's how I do it.

To make orange peel tea:

1. Chop orange peel into 1/4 inch pieces. You can use fresh peel or dried.
2. Put peel in a pan. For each 2 tablespoons of fresh / 1 tablespoon of dried peel, add 1 cup water.
3. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat.
4. Let steep one hour.
5. Strain out peel.
6. Drink warm or at room temperature.
7. You can refrigerate the leftovers for a few days, or freeze for later use.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Broth - Cooking With Scraps

Instead of throwing out vegetable scraps, leftover vegetables, and other bits and pieces, turn them into a broth to use in your cooking. 

This practice has several benefits. You save money. You produce less that needs to be thrown out. And you know where your food has come from.

Vegetable Broth from Scraps

Watch the video then scroll down for more detailed instructions.

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What to Save

Whenever you peel a potato or carrot, when you cut the ends off celery or squash or snap the ends off beans or peas, you probably throw that away. I did for years. Somewhere in my mind, however, I thought there must be a way to use these cast-off bits.

Saving Vegetable Scraps

One way is to save them in the freezer. When you fill a bag or two, you have enough to make the broth. How much you need depends on what size pot you have and how much space you have to store the broth.

Making the Broth

Dump saved vegetable scraps into a pot large enough to hold the vegetables and water. Cover and turn to low-to-medium heat. As vegetables begin to thaw, use a spoon to break them apart. Once they are broken apart, add water until about halfway up the side of the pot. 

Cover and let simmer about 45 minutes. 

It will look something like this when it is done.

Strain the Broth

Now it is time to strain the broth. I begin with a large strainer to get the pieces of vegetables and peels. Then I pour it through a finer strainer to catch more bits and pieces.  

The broth is now ready to use just as you would any broth you bought. I like to use it to season rice and to make mushroom gravy to serve with pork chops.

Saving the Broth

If you save a bag or two of vegetable scraps, you will get a lot of broth when you make it. To save it, you could can it or you can freeze it, which I prefer.  It is easy to pull out and thaw whenever I need some.

I like to freeze mine in an ice cube tray. When frozen, pop it out and put in a freezer storage bag.

I originally used an ice cube tray, each section holding about 1/3 cup of liquid. I recently purchased a freezer tray from Souper Cubes. I got the 1-cup size, which is the amount I often find I need. I love them, and realize I need a second tray!

Use whatever size container you have available. Be sure to fill it with water to know how much it will hold so you know how many of them you will need when cooking.

That's all there is to it! You can add seasonings when you cook the broth, but I prefer not to so I can season whatever I use it with.

Notes:

I have also found that when you use a lot of celery scraps, it smells overwhelmingly of celery while it is cooking. The taste, however, is not of celery. 

I've read where others suggest NOT using asparagus or tomatoes in a vegetable broth. I've never tried either, so I can't comment. 

When you strain out the vegetables, compost them if you can. They are cooked and should break down fast. 

If you have any questions, leave a comment. If you try it, let me know!