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Grilled vegetables with carrot leaf pesto

Grilled vegetables with carrot leaf pesto is a beautiful accompaniment to the baked leek and saffron risotto. 
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Servings: 4 people
Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch asparagus, washed and woody ends snapped off
  • 1 bunch broccolini, washed and ends trimmed
  • 1 large zucchini, washed ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise
  • olive oil, to drizzle on top
  • flaked sea salt

Carrot leaf pesto

  • 2 cups carrot leaves (the rough amount from 1 bunch of baby carrots) substitute with rocket, Italian parsely or radish leaves
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and grated

Instructions

Carrot leaf pesto

  • Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in a small frypan until golden, then set aside to cool.
  • Roughly chop up the carrot leaves, then add to a bowl with the olive oil, garlic, grated parmesan and toasted pine nuts.
  • Blitz briefly with a handheld blender, or in a food processer. I like to leave a bit of texture.
  • Store in a clean glass jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top. This helps to maintain the bright green colour.

Grilled vegetables

  • Preheat a grill to 200°C and line a tray with aluminium foil.
  • Arrange the prepared vegetables on the tray in separate groups. This way, if one vegetable is cooked before the other, you can remove it easily (this will depend on whether or not your vegetables are similar in size).
  • Drizzle with a little olive oil and add a little salt.
  • Grill for about 5 minutes, shaking them halfway through.
  • Serve immediately, while hot, or at room temperature, with the carrot leaf pesto on top.

Notes

The pesto can made made up to three days ahead and stored in the fridge. I often freeze small portions to use another time in soup or pasta.