The Lovell Table

This past Mother’s Day weekend I drove home to spend time with my mom doing some of her favorite things (which also happen to be mine, funny how that works). One of those things was stopping in to a farmer’s market. We found the most beautiful carrots there with giant leafy tops and I immediately started thinking about a recipe that would use all of it. This is a perfect, summery side dish. I can’t wait to make it for my mom!

Ingredients

• 1 bag red baby potatoes
• 5 large carrots and their tops
• crumbled feta
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup pistachios
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh dill
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Cut the potatoes into quarters
3. Peel and chop the carrots into thick, round slices and reserve 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups of the carrot tops (the upper leafy part of the stem)
4. In a baking dish toss the potatoes and carrots with 1 teaspoon of fresh dill, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil
5. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven toss and bake for 30 minutes more or until soft
6. Make the pesto while the vegetables bake- in a blender combine the carrot tops (just the leafy part not the thicker stems towards the carrot), basil, garlic, parmesan, pistachios, juice from 1/2 of the lemon, and remaining olive oil
7. Blend until smooth, drizzling in water if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency
8. When the vegetables are ready, remove them from the oven and squeeze the remaining half of the lemon over them
9. To serve, spread half of the pesto on a platter (reserve the other half for another use) and top with the roasted vegetables, layer the remaining dill and crumbled feta over top