Creamy pasta with carrot sauce and carrot top pesto

Name: Creamy pasta with carrot sauce and carrot top pesto
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 1.1 lbs conchiglie; 5 carrots with top greens; 3 shallots; 3 cloves garlic; 1.2 cups vegetable broth; 3 tbsp crème fraîche; 2 sprigs parsley; 0.5 lemon; 2.1 oz Parmesan cheese; 5 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp butter; 1 oz sliced almonds (toasted, optional); chili flakes (for decorating); salt; pepper

Based on 21 ratings

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Carolin Roitzheim

Food Editor at Kitchen Stories

"Carrots can be more than just a side dish, salad, or soup; They can also be a wonderfully creamy, colorful pasta accompaniment. Like ripe tomatoes, carrots have a subtle sweetness that pairs well with tangy Parmesan, lemon juice, and a bit of crème fraîche to make an incredible pasta sauce. Don’t discard your carrot greens! They make a great pesto or gremolata, as in this recipe, which adds a mildly spicy and grassy-fresh note to the dish and cuts through the creamy carrot sauce. If you can't find carrots with greens, just use parsley instead. What's missing for perfect pasta? For me, a little crunch! Toasted almonds, or other nuts of your choice. Not sure which pasta to use? I'm a huge fan of conchiglie: The shell shape is just adorable, and the pasta collects a little sea of sauce inside. Of course, you can use other pasta shapes, like orecchiette or even pappardelle."

Difficulty

Easy 👌

Preparation

40 min

Baking

0 min

Resting

0 min

Ingredients

2Servings

MetricImperial

250 g

conchiglie

2½

carrots with top greens

1½

1½ cloves

150 ml

1½ tbsp

1 sprigs

30 g

2½ tbsp

1 tbsp

15 g

sliced almonds (toasted, optional)

chili flakes (for decorating)

salt

pepper

Utensils

knife, cutting board, peeler, grater, large pot, pot, spatula, liquid measuring cup, immersion blender

Nutrition per serving

Cal856

Fat34 g

Protein25 g

Carb112 g

Step 1/4
- 1½ cloves garlic
- 1½ shallots
- 2½ carrots with top greens
- ¼ lemon
- 30 g Parmesan cheese
- salt
- knife
- cutting board
- peeler
- grater
- large pot
Cut off the carrot greens approx. 15 cm/6 in. above the stalk and set the greens aside for use later, discard the stems and stalk. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic, shallots, and carrots. Grate the Parmesan cheese. Zest and juice the lemon. In a large pot, bring water to a boil for pasta and salt well.
Step 2/4
- 1 tbsp butter
- 150 ml vegetable broth
- 250 g conchiglie
In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté shallots and ⅔ of the garlic in it until golden, for approx. 3 min, stirring often. Add carrots, sauté briefly, then deglaze with vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat, and simmer until carrots are fork-tender, for approx. 10 min. Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve about 250 ml/1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta, then return the pasta to the large pot.
Step 3/4
- 1 sprigs parsley
- 2½ tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pot
- spatula
- liquid measuring cup
- immersion blender
While the carrots and pasta are cooking, prepare the pesto. Purée the carrot greens, parsley, lemon zest, remaining garlic, and olive oil in a measuring cup with an immersion blender or in a stand mixer. Add more olive oil if needed, season with salt, and blend well. Set the pesto aside.
Step 4/4
- 1½ tbsp crème fraîche
- salt
- pepper
- 15 g sliced almonds (toasted, optional)
- chili flakes (for decorating)
Once the carrots are cooked until soft, add the contents of the pot to the stand mixer along with the crème fraîche, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese, or purée in the pot using an immersion blender until the sauce is very fine and creamy. Pour the sauce over the pasta in the pot, add pasta water, mix well, and season again with salt and pepper. Serve with the pesto and almonds to taste and chili flakes.
Enjoy your meal!