Carrot Top Pesto

You should have heard me screaming with delight (literally) when I pulled these veggies from my very own garden. What a miracle to plant the tiniest of seeds and then to be rewarded with these glorious oranges and purples! I will most certainly be planting carrots and beets every summer from now on - so easy!

One restaurant meal that I want to recreate in my kitchen was one I had at Grove in Grand Rapids a few years ago. I chose it from a special and abundant vegan menu (how thoughtful of them!) and it was so creative. It was simply called "Carrots Three Ways." I love carrots, so I knew I'd love this.... and I did.

I can't honestly remember the entire meal, but I know it started with Ginger Carrot Soup. I know there was a carrot puree and there were probably roasted carrots. Probably there was a salad and some other type of veg.  So simple! Everything was so beautiful ( and orange!)

When my own garden started to produce carrots, I began dreaming of Carrots Three Ways here in my own home. One addition to the restaurant meal will be to include a carrot top pesto. Delicious!

You can see that I served the pesto over our salad. Also on the plate are grilled spicy tofu and fat free oven fries. 

Here's how to make Carrot Top Pesto:

Drop a few garlic gloves into a running food processor. This is a good way to mince the garlic. Add a 1/4 C of sliced or slivered almonds, a bunch of carrot tops (stems discarded), some olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt. Process until kind of smooth. Be ready to scrape down the sides of the processor.