Carrot top pesto
Carrot top pesto is a vibrant green sauce made from baby carrot leaves, pepitas, almonds and Parmesan, blended silky in the Thermomix TM7. A clever way to use the whole vegetable, it delivers fresh, tangy flavour with a lemony lift, ready in minutes and ideal for pasta, sandwiches or roasted vegetables.
About this recipe
Carrot top pesto with the Thermomix TM7 proves that the leafy greens on a bunch of baby carrots deserve a place in your kitchen instead of the bin. Searching for a pesto recipe that fights food waste? This all-in-one kitchen machine grinds pepitas and almonds to a rustic crumb, grates the Parmesan finely and then blends the carrot leaves with garlic, lemon and extra virgin olive oil into a silky, vividly green sauce. The result tastes herby and slightly earthy, lifted by citrus and salted cheese, perfect as a pasta sauce, a spread on sourdough or a finishing spoonful over roasted vegetables. As a quick condiment for weeknight dinners or meal prep, it keeps happily in a jar in the fridge, making it a smart staple for vegetarians and zero-waste home cooks alike.
Preparation tips
- Wash the baby carrot tops thoroughly in a bowl of cold water and pat them dry, as sandy grit hides between the leaves and would spoil the silky texture of your pesto.
- Toast the pepitas and almonds in a dry frying pan before blending; the gentle roast deepens their nuttiness and gives the carrot top pesto a noticeably rounder flavour.
- Store the finished pesto in a sterilised jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top; it keeps in the fridge for about a week and tastes delicious stirred through warm pasta or spread on toast.
Recipe variations
- Make a vegan version by replacing the Parmesan with nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt; the pepitas and almonds already provide plenty of body, so the carrot top pesto stays thick and spoonable.
- For a seasonal twist, swap half the carrot tops for basil in summer or kale in winter, and add a few sun-dried tomatoes for a sweeter, deeper-coloured pesto on winter bruschetta.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- Weigh the pepitas and almonds directly in the mixing bowl with the built-in scale, guaranteeing consistent nuttiness in every batch of pesto.
- Grinding the Parmesan to a fine crumb takes seconds in the TM7, melting seamlessly into the carrot top pesto without any gritty texture.
- Blade-sharp chopping reduces the garlic cloves and baby carrot tops to a fine, even base in moments, far quicker than a knife and board.
- Mixing the olive oil and lemon gradually into the greens produces a velvety, emulsified pesto with no splashing around the worktop.
- Grating a little extra Parmesan as a topping gives the finished carrot top pesto a professional finish when served over pasta.
Ingredients
- baby carrot tops
- water
- pepitas
- almonds
- garlic cloves
- extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- lemon
- ground black pepper