Recipes

Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto and Burrata

  • Serves

    serves 6

  • Cook

    30 minutes

INGALLS PHOTOGRAPHY

"I've become known for doing nose-to-tail pig cooking, so this is kind of top-to-tail vegetable cooking," says chef April Bloomfield. In a sneak peek at her new cookbook, A Girl and Her Greens (Ecco, March 2015), Bloomfield offers her crazy-good recipe for pan-roasted carrots with carrot-top pesto, shaved carrot salad, and creamy burrata. This recipe first appeared in our 2015 SAVEUR 100.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 12 lb. small carrots with green tops (2 carrots peeled, remaining carrots scrubbed and trimmed, leaving 1" green tops, leaves and tender stems reserved)
  • 2 12 tsp. flake sea salt, such as Maldon
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves garlic (3 unpeeled and lightly crushed, 1 peeled)
  • 12 cup packed basil leaves
  • 12 cup walnuts
  • 14 cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish
  • 8 oz. burrata or fresh mozzarella, drained
  • 2 12 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Step 1

Heat oven to 500°. Heat 1⁄4 cup oil in a 12″ ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Add trimmed carrots and 1 tsp. salt; cook, turning carrots as needed, until browned, 6–8 minutes. Add butter and crushed garlic; roast until carrots are tender, 10–12 minutes.

Step 2

Pulse three-quarters of carrot leaves and stems, 1 tsp. salt, the peeled garlic, 1⁄4 cup basil, the walnuts, and parmesan in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add 3⁄4 cup oil; purée into a smooth pesto.

Step 3

Arrange roasted carrots on a serving platter with burrata. Using a vegetable peeler, peel remaining 2 carrots into thin ribbons and place in a bowl. Add remaining oil, carrot leaves and tender stems, salt, and basil, plus lemon juice; toss to combine. Sprinkle over carrots and burrata. Spoon about 1⁄3 cup pesto over carrots and sprinkle with more parmesan; serve remaining pesto on the side.

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