Have you ever wondered how you can cut down on your produce waste and still have a delicious pasta dinner? Here's a hack to get the pesto both worlds.
Enter this carrot top pesto recipe, brought to you by Nasim Lahbichi (@lahbco) on Instagram. Using leftover carrot tops, Lahbichi combines a great pesto recipe with a way to use produce waste that you'd otherwise send to the trash.
As the viral video shows, pesto's iconic green color can be created with more than just basil.
"Adding peas and mint makes this sauce a little more dense with a touch of brightness," Lahbichi explains in his caption.
Lahbichi pops his carrot tops, peas, and mint into a blender, along with saffron threads, garlic, lemon paste, walnuts, and some seasoning, and then blends it until smooth.
And of course, it wouldn't be complete without the proper amount of fat, so Lahbichi adds olive oil, nuts, and nutritional yeast. Then, presto! You have pesto. The full recipe can be found on Lahbichi's website.
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The last and most important step is to choose the right shape of pasta for the dish (and your mood). Lahibichi recommends fun-shaped pasta, and we agree! With a little luck, maybe you'll find bunny-shaped pasta and bring the carrot theme full circle.
Buying carrots with tops on them can feel wasteful — after all, who likes to have all that greenery go straight into the trash? According to recent statistics, about 80 million pounds of food goes to waste each year.
In total, Americans throw away about one-third of the food they purchase. For an average family of four on a budget of $1,000 a month, that's like throwing more than $300 straight into the trash.
Compliments poured in from Instagram viewers, with one user saying, "TBH as an italian I'm in love with this recipe, it looks soooo good!"
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Another suggested using the pesto in a pizza.
"As a pizza sauce on some Naan with grilled chicken, white cheddar, feta, red onion, diced garlic, and cherry tomatoes," they wrote. "Then add some chopped spinach and balsamic drizzle at the end."
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