I purchased a beautiful bunch of carrots at the farmers’ market this afternoon, and I was about to trim off the greens and throw them away when I decided to look online and find out if there were any good tips for using them. I came across this post by blogger Ned Raggett, and thought the suggestion for Carrot Green Pesto sounded the most promising.

First, I just tried eating a piece of the greens because I’d never tried them before. My initial impression was that they tasted like parsley. Then there was a hint of carrot and radish, and finally they left an aftertaste in my mouth that tasted a bit like grass.

The pesto itself was okay. I prefer a basil, an arugula or a parsley as a straight pesto sauce, but I could see adding this to soups or pasta sauces.

Ingredients
2 cups carrot greens, loosely packed, with thicker stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
1. Put all ingredients together in a food processor and chop until they are evenly blended.