From Six Seasons of Pasta:
Basil pesto p 33
Carrots with Basil Pesto p 211
This was fine but I’m not a huge fan of cooked carrots so I’m not in love.
We had a mild summer and no big cool down yet (soon to change, no doubt) so lots of “summer” produce like corn, tomatoes and basil still at the farmers market. I picked up a couple of big bunches of basil and used the book recipe for basil pesto. I don’t normally follow a recipe, just use what I have and taste as taste as I go but this worked fine and I have plenty to freeze.
On to the pasta dish, we are instructed to cook the carrots until fully tender, not tender-crisp, and certainly not crunchy. This makes them basically the same texture as the al dente pasta. The breadcrumbs help out with a bit of crunch but I would prefer tender-crisp carrots. And I’d add some additional seasonal veg (broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers) for both texture and color but that’s just me! If you love carrots cooked completely tender, this might be perfect as is. In any case, don’t skip the lemon juice, it's a perfect balance to the rich pesto.
