Every year the carrot patch grows thick and lush with greens, the ferning leaves stand tall above the soil long before carrots begin to form below. Every spring when the carrot tops reach four to six inches tall, I thin out my patch so the carrots have room to grow. Each carrot needs 1 1/2 to 2 inches of space to grow large enough to harvest, so plenty of carrots are thinned out to make room. This season I tried a new method of growing carrots, spacing rows 6 inches apart, thinning 1-2 inches between each carrot. This allowed for more even thinning, and hopefully larger, longer carrots. These carrot thinnings are tender with a parsley-like flavor with carrot notes. The more mature the carrot, the stronger the carrot flavor in the greens.

Both these tender thinnings and more mature carrot greens make a wonderfully velvety, fresh, and bright pesto. If the carrot tops are from more mature carrots, use only the leaves and add a squeeze of lemon to cut any bitterness in the sauce. This pesto makes a delicious spring appetizer spread on toasted baguettes.

Carrot Top Pesto

Ingredients

2 c. Tightly packed carrot thinnings or carrot top leaves removed from stems (stems will make the pesto bitter and tough.)
1/3 c. Walnuts
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, broken into chunks
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 c. Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon (optional)

Recipe

1. Add walnuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese to a blender and blend until very finely chopped.
2. Add carrot tops or leaves and red pepper flakes to blender and pulse until carrot tops are finely chopped and the mixture is combined.
3. Stir olive oil into carrot top mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. If pesto is bitter, add juice from half a lemon to brighten the flavor (optional).