Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

This is one of the most delicious ways I know to eat carrots. Many people dont know that carrot tops are edible. I didnt either until fairly recently. But they have a lovely fresh carrot aroma that doesnt really compare to anything else. (If I could bottle up that perfume, I would spray it on myself everyday!) It seems only right to serve carrot top pesto slathered on top of the beloved root it sprung out of.

Carrots are a joy to grow and especially to pull up out of the ground. In the video, I tried to relay my love of that exquisite moment when the carrot comes loose and springs out of the soil.

There are so many different varieties of carrots to choose from and this recipe will benefit from a sweet, juicy, just-harvested carrot. I used two varieties: Atomic Red and Yaya. So hover around your local market until the new carrots are in season and stalk your closest farmer if you need to! The recipe calls for medium carrots but its lovely with smaller new spring carrots too, so use whatever you can get your hands on.

I wrote about the nutritional benefits of roasting carrots whole and unpeeled in a previous blogpost. But if you missed it, roasted whole carrots retain more of their nutrients than chopped carrots cooked using other methods. In fact roasting carrots in a little oil makes some of the nutrients more available for our bodies to absorb than eating them raw. A cool little nutrition factoid I learned from Jo Robinsons fascinating book Eating On The Wild Side.

I like to use sunflower seeds in my pesto because its the most economical option and I find they taste just as good as walnuts or pine nuts. But really, feel free to sub any nuts you prefer in this recipe.

This recipe will make about 3 cups of pesto, so even after you smother your roasted carrots in pesto, youll still have some leftovers. The remaining pesto is delicious on fish, pasta, mashed potatoes, pizza, the skys the limit. May the carrot force be with you!

Aube is a passionate organic gardener and home cook who likes to share the stories of how food gets to our dinner plates. Her work has been shown on television and at international film festivals. Her web series has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards for Best Video Webcast (On Location). In 2012, she was the recipient of Saveur Magazine's Best Food Blog award in the video category.