Maple-Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto

Maple-roasted carrots are drizzled with a pesto made from carrot top greens, parsley, and almonds, resulting in a standout side dish that’s vegetarian to boot.

Step: 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step: 2

Scrub carrots very well and trim, leaving an inch of the green tops attached and reserving greens. Halve any large carrots lengthwise. Arrange in a shallow, foil-lined roasting pan. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Step: 3

Roast in the preheated oven until tender, stirring once or twice, about 40 minutes.

Step: 4

Meanwhile, wash and trim 1 1/2 cups of reserved carrot greens. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add greens; cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. Remove and blot dry on paper towels.

Step: 5

Combine carrot greens, parsley, Parmesan cheese, almonds, lemon zest, garlic, and remaining 1 teaspoon maple syrup in a food processor. Pulse to chop. With machine running, drizzle in olive oil until well combined. Season pesto with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Step: 6

Drizzle roasted carrots with a little pesto and serve remaining pesto on the side.

Per Serving: 194 calories; protein 1.8g; carbohydrates 12.8g; fat 15.6g; cholesterol 2mg; sodium 249.8mg.

The most obvious way to choose a side dish is to caught at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose something different. When you’re cooking pasta, go for a simple healthy dish . Made steak? Go for more light. If you’re making stir-fry with rice, it must not a good idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

This also can apply to cooking process . You don’t want to overcommit your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be juggling four pans on the cooking items . But sometimes you can made a dish do double-duty .