Photo: Gourmet/Stephanie Foley
Beets, along with their bushy plumage of greens, are currently enjoying prime time status in farmers markets. The beet roots are plump and heavy with juice, the stalks are still youthfully sturdy—not withering with age—and the leaves live up to their name: They’re vibrantly green.
What galls me is watching the number of shoppers who request the greens be removed when it’s their turn at the cash register. Even sadder is the willingness with which the farmers or their assistants hack off the leaves without a word of encouragement to the unwitting buyer to keep them intact.
Why do you think beets are sold with the greens, anyway? It’s not just a marketing ploy, although robust greens means the roots are fresh. They’re edible! You don’t usually see the poisonous green leaves attached to rhubarb stalks, do you? But saying you can eat the leaves doesn’t do them justice. They’re loaded with nutrients—some statistics rate the greens higher than the root—which for me is an added plus, but not the reason I devour them. No, the truth is that I prefer beet greens to just about any other green.
I’ve turned into a farmers’ market forager, gathering up the discarded leaves and feasting on the freebies at home. By sharing this secret, I risk missing out on the bounty in the future, but it’s worth it to turn more of you onto the joys of beet greens.
Some food writers liken the greens to spinach or chard, and you can treat them in a similar way, but I think beet greens beat both in texture and flavor. When cooked, the stalks are meaty while the leaves collapse into a silky tenderness. The total cooking time for stalks and leaves together is quick, at most 10 minutes.
Beet greens are delicious in the pasta pictured above, but if you just want a side of greens, here’s what you do: Wash the leaves and stalks well; they can be really sandy, but don’t spin them dry. Cook some finely chopped onion (about half a medium onion for 1 bunch of greens) with a pinch of salt in a skillet filmed with olive oil over medium heat until it’s softened, then add the chopped up stems with another generous pinch of salt and about ¼ cup water, and braise them, covered, for 4 to 5 minutes, until they’re tender. Now add the leaves with another pinch of salt, and braise them in the water still clinging to the leaves, covered, stirring once or twice, for 3 to 5 minutes, until they’re completely wilted and tender. One bunch of cooked greens is just enough for two people, or a feast for one.
I, too, love the beet greens. I juice them raw…I seem to digest them better than the roots these days. But I still eat the roots, too and sometimes included them in the juicing. My juicer does not utilize all the pulp, so if I have not used the beets/stems, I cook up all the pulp from the juiced veggies, making my own veggie broth – no chemicals – for soups. At the local farmers market, one of the vendors actually saves the tops for me…for free. Can’t do better than that!
My boyfriend made golden beets for us last weekend…he chopped the root and the stems/leaves and then boiled them all together, and tossed them simply with butter and salt and pepper when done. Amazing.
there’s an earthiness to beet greens that may take a little getting used to. it’s not like kale, collards, any of the others. so for those who do not eat greens generally, i could see why they’d avoid beet greens. at our co-op, we sell a lot of greens, but the beet only when they’re attached to the roots. hence the general lack of availability may also limit use. i think they’d rate below mustard greens for acceptance because of flavor. in a pot of mixed greens, the would lend a note that might increase general use. YES they’re nutrient packed, but you have to Want them first ! we even tried baking them, like the noveau treatment of kale. worked ok, but that taste– still there. you have to work that out….
My wife and I also love beet tops. We had some ground beef so we made a cabbage roll style stuffing and stuffed the leaves then baked it all in a spicy tomato sauce. If we have lots of tops we coursely chop them and sautee with a bit of garlic and deglaze with balsamic vinegar fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of sea salt.