Carrot Top Chimichurri

There's a million reasons to love your CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture).  As an analytical chemist in my day job, designing instrumentation that can determine pesticides in foods, I especially appreciate that our CSA is certified organic.  We also want to support local agriculture for many reasons, including reducing the carbon footprint of our food supply and getting in closer touch with our food source.  Michael Pollen and others like Mark Bittman articulate a strong case for 'eating local' and shifting more to plant-based protein. 

So when I get that big box of veggies every Wednesday, I try to figure out how to use everything inside.  And when I look at the gorgeous green tops to the organic carrots, I simply can't see throwing them away.  Last week I combined carrot top greens with the Swiss chard and beet greens for a great mixed green saute.  This week I blended the carrot tops with other aromatic greens to make chimichurri, a spicy Argentinean sauce.  A sort of mix between pesto and salsa, this is a great hot sauce to spice up meats, fish, soups, omelets, sandwiches, you name it, nom, nom, nom...
Green tops from 3 carrots
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup arugula leaves
1 small jalapeño pepper, quartered
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lime
Dash salt
About 1/3 cup olive oil

Trim the leaves off the stems of the carrot greens and wash well.  Spin dry in a salad spinner and place in a small food processor.  You may have to pulse them down in several batches.  Pulse in the remaining greens and add the remaining ingredients except the oil.  Processes about 5 seconds and then add enough oil, pulsing until you get a smooth paste the consistency of pesto.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups.