Rainbow carrots are such a visual delight. They are not only beautiful but their flavor can vary too. So when I found a whole section at my local grocery store that featured them, I had to buy a few bunches. This dish displays an elegant simplicity by featuring perfectly roasted whole carrots and using the tops for a wonderful creamy pesto-like sauce.
Health Benefits of Carrots
This humble vegetable is high in fiber, K1, potassium and beta-carotene. It is known to help with weight loss, improve eye sight, bone health, and lower cholesterol. You can shred it in salads, pickle it, roast it, turn it into a creamy soup…
Carrot Greens or Tops
Okay so I must confess that I have discarded my fair share of carrot tops into our compost pile or fed it to the wild bunnies that occasionally visit our garden! I think that we all thought that they must not taste that good since most carrots sold in stores come without them! But it turns out that the green part is actually really good. You can lightly steam them, turn them into pesto or chimichurri sauce. Since discovering this use, and growing our own carrots, this is one of our favorite ways to make them.
Note: When you buy carrots with tops don’t wait more than a day to use the greens because they are quite tender and can go bad quickly. Trim the top, and store in a ziploc bag with a sheet of paper towel to absorb some of the moisture which in turn slows down the breaking down of the fiber.
Carrot Top Green Sauce
Who needs basil when you can use greens? Sure, you can now buy fresh basil all year around but it is nice to use other fresh herbs like arugula, parsley, spinach and carrot greens to make a rich green sauce that is
While the carrots are roasting, prepare the green sauce.
Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Carrot Top Green Sauce
Equipment
- food processor
- Baking sheet
- silicone brush
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of rainbow carrots with their tops
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Carrot Top Green Sauce
- 1 bunch carrot greens rinsed and stems removed.
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, parsley or basil leaves
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp tahini paste
- 2 tbsp Vegetable mayonnaise (Vegenaise)
- 1 tsp paprika powder (sweet or smoked)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the carrots
- Remove the carrot tops and the stems. Wash, rinse, pat dry and set aside.
- Peel the carrots and remove any threads at the end of the carrots.
- Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Place the carrots on a lined baking sheet. Brush the marinade over the carrots making sure all sides have been seasoned.
- Bake covered for 25 minutes at 400 F.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes until the carrots are perfectly roasted.
Prepare the carrot green sauce
- In a food processor, combine the washed, rinsed and pat dried carrot tops with 1 cup of cilantro or basil leaves, 1/2 cup of scallion greens, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp vegenaise, 1 tsp paprika, salt and pepper.
- Process until you obtain a smooth sauce.
- Taste and season. Add a little water if you want the sauce to be more liquid.
Putting it together
- Immediately serve the carrots and drizzle a generous amount of sauce over them.
