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When I cooked this on my Instagram stories, it was the most requested recipe I’ve made to date. I guess some good six-minute yolk porn does wonders.
Luckily it also tastes delicious, thanks to all the different kinds of salt and umami at play: mushrooms, garlic, scallions, nutritional yeast, capers, and the caramelization of the veggies. This is balanced with lots of fresh things like zippy lemon and herbs. And because you’re saving those beautiful carrot tops, it’s sustainable, quarantineable, and Instagrammable.
Pro tip, the pesto is quite versatile and not too heavy, which is good since it makes a lot. Whisk it with cold water and lemon juice for a salad dressing, schmear on bread and top with roasted vegetables, or make pesto pasta, below.
Pesto adapted from Jenné Claiborne’s Carrot Top Pesto and Joshua McFadden’s Carrot-Top Salsa Verde from Six Seasons.
Pesto
½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (or sub walnuts or pine nuts)
Leafy tops from one bunch carrots, washed (or sub kale or spinach)
½ bunch parsley
⅓ bunch mint
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 scallion, chopped
¼ cup capers
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
Salt
Black pepper
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pasta
4 oz pasta of choice, preferably fusilli, macaroni, or spaghetti (I used Andean Dream Organic Quinoa Macaroni Pasta)
1 bunch broccolini, chopped into thirds
8 crimini mushrooms, quartered
½ bundle kale (~4 leaves), chopped (or sub spinach)
2 pastured eggs (optional)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (or sub Parmesan)
Black pepper
8 mint leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade)
½ meyer lemon, halved
To make the pesto:
In a food processor with the S-attachment, pulse the pumpkin seeds until they form a meal, kind of like almond flour. Add the carrot tops, parsley, mint, pressed garlic, chopped scallion, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice and pulse to chop.
Taste, then season with salt and black pepper as you like. Stream in the olive oil. Scrape, pulse a couple more times, and taste until you love it and is chopped to your prefered texture. I like mine smooth, but do you!
Keep in a jar or an airtight glass container. Makes 2 cups. Keeps for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
To make the pasta (serves 2):
Get your mise en place (French for get your sh** together on the counter): wash the shroomies, trim the broc, chop the kale. Set a medium pot of water to a boil, using only as much water as you need to cover the pasta as it boils. This will keep the starch content of the water high, helping the pesto get silky and adhere to the pasta.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped broccolini and crimini mushrooms, season with salt, and cover with a lid. This allows the veggies to sear and steam. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccolini stalks are al dente and the mushrooms are golden.
When the pasta water is boiling, add the pasta and stir frequently, especially if gluten free. Cook until al dente and drain in a colander, saving the pasta water. Return the water to the pot to soft boil the eggs. Rinse well in cold water to stop the cooking.
When the pasta water is back to a boil, carefully lower in the eggs and set a timer for 6 minutes. Remove, immerse in cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel carefully.
In the pan with the broccolini, add the pasta, ½ cup of the pesto, and ¼ cup reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and season to taste.
To serve, portion the pasta, sprinkle with nutritional yeast, lemon zest, and mint. Top with the soft egg and black pepper. Serve immediately.
