These roasted carrots with carrot top and lemon pesto are a great example of how I like to cook: using every last bit of an ingredient. Sweet, caramelised roasted carrots served on a bright, herby pesto made with the carrot tops that would usually end up in the bin. It’s fresh, vibrant and full of flavour, and my mum called these the best carrots she’d ever eaten.

Carrot tops are completely edible and have a fresh, slightly peppery flavour, somewhere between parsley and carrot. Blended with basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, lemon and olive oil, they make a beautiful green pesto that’s also kinder on the wallet than an all-basil version. Use the tender, leafy fronds and discard any thick, tough stalks, and give them a really good wash, as they can be gritty. Lemon zest and juice keep the pesto light and fresh and stop it from feeling too heavy against the sweet carrots.

To get properly caramelised carrots, make sure they’re dry before tossing them in oil and salt, and spread them out in a single layer on the tray. Crowding the tray makes them steam rather than roast. Leave smaller carrots whole and halve larger ones lengthways so they all cook evenly. Roast until tender in the middle and golden and slightly charred at the edges, which is where all the sweetness comes from.

Serving the carrots on top of the pesto rather than spooning it over looks beautiful on a platter and keeps the colours bright. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few extra toasted pine nuts for crunch.

Bunched carrots with their leafy tops are easiest to find from early summer into autumn, at farmers’ markets, greengrocers and veg boxes. For a cheaper option, cashews work brilliantly in place of pine nuts. Swap the Parmesan for a vegetarian hard cheese for a vegetarian version.

This is a lovely side for Sunday lunch, roast chicken, lamb or fish, and works well as part of a sharing spread. Make extra pesto, as it’s delicious stirred through pasta or spooned over grilled fish. It keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to three days with a thin layer of olive oil on top, or can be frozen in small portions.