Spring Pea and Carrot Salad with Carrot Top Pesto

It’s a healthy, easy-to-make, fresh spring salad recipe celebrating the seasons baby carrot and snap pea bounty! Crunchy fresh veggies, garlicky homemade croutons, tangy feta and herbaceous pesto create a very colorful spring-a-licious salad with all sorts of flavors and textures!

Why this Recipe Works

• Minimize food waste! Instead of tossing the carrots tops we use them to make a pesto dressing for the salad.
• Eat no more boring salads! Crunchy fresh veggies, garlicky homemade croutons, tangy feta and herbaceous pesto make for all sorts of flavors and textures.
• Eat this dish any time of day! Brunch, lunch or dinner.

Peas and carrots are so often served hot.  Serve them fresh, cold and crispy here while they’re at the peak of their season!

Half-Baked Harvest’s Spring Pea and Carrot Salad was my source of inspiration and I borrowed heavily from her recipe. I’m a huge proponent of minimizing food waste and finding good use for every part of the produce (or meat) that we can! I was stoked to see her re-use her carrot tops in the salad dressing. Waste as little as possible I say!

How to Make this Salad

Please enjoy my in process and ingredient shots with explanation for your easy cooking.

Cooks Tips

• Fresh is best! Get the freshest baby carrots and snap peas you can find for optimal texture.
• Roast the pine nuts for greater depth of flavor in the pesto.
• Pine nuts can be substituted with any of nut! I mean… have ya seen the price of pine nuts lately??? Walnuts or pistachios work great and the nut skies the limit!
• Use a sharp knife for all the initial chopping of the pesto ingredients, relying on the processor merely to mix everything together.
• If vegan, simply omit the cheese.
• If you don’t have a food processor, a blender can work too.
• Pesto oxidizes! Cover pesto and put in fridge so it doesn’t turn brown until ready to use.
• Any leftover pesto freezes beautifully.
• For storing baby carrots and snap peas: wrap them in a damp paper towel, place them in a loosely closed plastic bag and keep them in the vegetable crisper in the fridge.

Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with #chefdanielagerson. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!

Let’s make waves in the kitchen!

Print Recipe

Spring Pea and Carrot Salad with Carrot Top Pesto

It’s a healthy, easy-to-make, fresh spring salad recipe celebrating the seasons baby carrot and snap pea bounty! Crunchy fresh veggies, garlicky homemade croutons, tangy feta and herbaceous pesto create a very colorful spring-a-licious salad with all sorts of flavors and textures!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Brunch, Lunch

Cuisine: Californian

Servings: 8

Author: Daniela Gerson

Ingredients

Carrot Top Pesto

• 1 bunch carrots tops 1-2 cups washed and any brown tops removed, can sub fresh arugula or baby kale, roughly chopped
• 1 cup fresh basil roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or another nut will also work
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan omit if vegan
• 1 lemon zest & juice
• pinch crushed red pepper chili flakes
• kosher salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Spring Salad

• 1 piece ciabatta or sourdough French about 450 g, use gluten free bread if needed, cut or torn into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• kosher salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 bunch baby carrots cut into ribbons or thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh snap peas
• 1 bunch radishes thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh watercress or baby spinach
• handful fresh parsley or mint or a combo
• 8 ounces feta omit if vegan

Instructions

Carrot Tops Pesto

• In the bowl of a food processor with the knife blade attached or a blender, combine carrot top greens, basil and nuts. Pulse until finely copped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil. Add the cheese, lemon zest and juice, pinch of red pepper flakes and season with salt. Taste and add more salt as needed. Pour into a sealable container and keep in fridge until ready to use. 

Spring Salad

• Preheat oven to 350 F. 
• On a large baking sheet, toss bread pieces with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until bread is evenly coated. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through until bread is golden and toasted. 
• In a large salad bowl, toss carrot ribbons, snap peas, radishes, watercress or spinach, croutons and fresh herbs. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the carrot top pesto on top, to taste. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve alongside remaining pesto. Enjoy!

Notes

• Fresh is best! Get the freshest baby carrots and snap peas you can find for optimal texture.
• Roast the pine nuts for greater depth of flavor in the pesto.
• Pine nuts can be substituted with any of nut! I mean… have ya seen the price of pine nuts lately??? Walnuts or pistachios work great and the nut skies the limit!
• Use a sharp knife for all the initial chopping of the pesto ingredients, relying on the processor merely to mix everything together.
• If vegan, simply omit the cheese.
• If you don’t have a food processor, a blender can work too.
• Pesto oxidizes! Cover pesto and put in fridge so it doesn’t turn brown until ready to use.
• Any leftover pesto freezes beautifully.
• For storing baby carrots and snap peas: wrap them in a damp paper towel, place them in a loosely closed plastic bag and keep them in the vegetable crisper in the fridge.