For the Carrot Top Pesto that dresses her gnocchi at Soda Club, the new Italian wine bar with a plant-based menu in New York City, Chef Amira Gharib borrowed her mother’s recipe. Gharib says that her mom would create this pesto in “a tiny red food blender and keep it in a small jar in the fridge.” Growing up, Gharib would slather it all over bread. You can also riff on this pesto by using leftover spinach or arugula leaves, as her mom would sometimes do.
At Soda Club, which takes its name from Italy's tradition of hand-crafted sodas and its spirit from the sensuous, raucous era of 1920s Prohibition in The United States, the focus is on drinks, from organic and natural wines to non-alcoholic fountain sodas. On the menu marked as “Snacks” are a delicious array of pasta dishes, focaccia, and other bites to accompany a glass of Etna Rosato.
Gharib puts her carrot top pesto to work on a bowl of gnocchi and kale.
Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
2 bunches of carrot tops (save the carrots for a snack)
1 garlic clove, smashed
20 grams chives
5 grams fresh thyme, de-stemmed
130 grams pine nuts, raw
60 grams good quality olive oil, plus more for storing
Kosher salt
Zest of one lemon, for garnish
Method
1. Bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil. In a large bowl, create an ice water bath and set aside.
2. Blanch the carrot tops for 1-2 minutes, until super bright green. Using tongs, transfer them to the ice water bath to stop them from getting too soft.
3. Squeeze the water out of the carrot tops, pat dry, and roughly chop them. Add the blanched, chopped carrot tops, along with the garlic, chives, thyme, and pine nuts and olive oil to a blender, adding more oil if necessary to make sure everything is blended. Season with salt to taste, and if necessary, add a little water to loosen the consistency and emulsify a bit.
5. Transfer the pesto to a jar and cover the top with a layer of olive oil. It can be stored for up to four days in the refrigerator. When ready to use, slather on bread or dress a pasta and garnish with the lemon zest.
Soda Club Carrot Pesto Gnocchi photo by Eric Medsker