This little recipe follows the same structure as a traditional pesto, with a few handfuls of leafy greens, roasted nuts, cheese, garlic, and olive oil. But the flavor, thanks to the variety of vegetable tops and herbs, is so intense and spectacular. The best part about this recipe? It’s a great one to make on those refrigerator clean-out days; all the leafy odds and ends make for a delicious pesto.
Ingredients
- ½ cup toasted pecans (not salted)
- ¾ cup olive oil (add more to reach desired consistency)
- ½ cup or 4 ounces Manchego cheese
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (more to taste)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper (more to taste)
- Remnant Vegetable Tops (rinsed and patted dry; total volume in any combination should be between 3 - 3½ cups)
- Beet tops, 1 cup
- Carrot tops, ¾ cup
- Green onion tops, ½ cup
- Celery leaves, ¼ cup
- Parsley, ¼ cup
- Fennel fronds, ¼ cup
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Zest of one lemon (1 tablespoon)
- Juice of ½ lemon (2 tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, more if the pesto is overly bitter
Preparation
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the first 6 ingredients. Pulse until mixture is pulverized into a paste. Add the remaining ingredients (except oil) into the bowl of the food processor. Pulse while drizzling remaining oil into the food processor. Continue pulsing to reach desired texture. You may want to add additional olive oil depending on the desired thickness of the pesto. Taste and add additional salt, pepper or maple syrup as needed.
