Pasta Primavera with Carrot-Top Pesto

A fresh, vibrant, and healthy explosion of spring flavors. Carrot-top pesto with pistachios and mint over a medley of pasta, zucchini, rainbow chard, beets, leeks, and asparagus. A delicious dinner in less than 20 minutes.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Servings: 3 people

Course: Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

Carrot Top Pesto

1 lemon juiced and zested
4 cups fresh carrot-top greens
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp pistachios
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 1-2 green garlic stalks)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
4-6 tbsp water, as needed to thin pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Pasta Primavera

1 package dried pasta of choice
2-3 small purple beets, roasted*
1 bunch rainbow chard, chopped**
1 cup leeks, chopped
10-12 spears asparagus, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, sprialized or cut into bite sized pieces

Equipment

Blender

Method

Carrot-Top Pesto

Combine all ingredients into a blender. Start with 3 tbsp of water. Blend until smooth.
Add additional water if needed to thin and season to personal perference with salt and pepper.

Pasta Primavera

Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large sautee pan, cook rainbow chard, asparagus, leeks, garlic, and chopped zucchini (if using spiralized add at the end) and cook for 8 minutes.
Add spiralized zucchini and chopped roasted beets to pan after 8 minutes and cook for an additional 2 minutes to warm.

Serving

Mix each serving of pasta with 1/4 cup of pesto. Add a scoop of cooked vegetables to top and additional pesto if desired.

Notes

*Beets can be roasted the day before and stored in the refrigerator. To speed up meal preparation, you can use store bought pre-roasted beets.

**Chop the stalks into bite sized pieces. If using the greens as well, chop them and cook with the other vegetables.