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Let’s say you are at the grocery store, okay? You grab a cart with one broken wheel (naturally) and wind your way through the aisles somehow avoiding that nice Mrs. Johnson who always manages to run her cart over your foot when she wheels over to say hello.
Let’s say you safely steer clear of the candy aisle and arrive in the produce section. You decide you are in the mood for something healthy, delicious and fresh. So you spend what little free time you have today really checking out what’s available– and let’s say you chose a perfectly ripe, red apple.
Then you make your way to the check out and get stuck behind cell phone guy and his very public conversation about his ‘effin wife and her ugly divorce proceedings. His third and final credit card somehow finally gets approved and he pays for his Lamisil and gets out of your way (with a look over his shoulder like you’re the one with the problem).
Then after three price-checks and lots of rolled eyes from the people behind you, you hand over your hard-earned cash to pay for that apple, packing it up and taking it to the car. Once you bully your way out of the parking lot and make that nearly impossible left turn into rush hour traffic, you spend 45 stressful minutes driving 2.75 miles to your house (let’s say you live in Los Angeles).
You get home and you carefully wash that beautiful apple. Then you pull out your very best, perfectly sharpened knife and you cut that apple precisely in half. You wrap one half in an ugly old piece of plastic wrap and toss it into the refrigerator vegetable bin. The other half you promptly dump into the garbage pail.
Why would you do that? Well, I bet right now you are rolling your eyes and screaming loudly into your monitor “I wouldn’t do that, Greg!â€
Well if that’s true why do you do it with beets? I’ve seen you do it so don’t deny it. I have worked so hard here at Sippity Sup trying to get you to eat beets. I thought we were making real progress. I have seen some lovely roasted beet salads working their way across the blogosphere. That makes me happy.
But what about the greens? Did you think they were poisonous? Beet greens are food. We don’t throw perfectly good food in the garbage. Even Richie Rich knows better than that!
Hearty beet greens are called bietoline in Italian and are enjoyed in many preparations This version is cooked with anchovies and garlic and a bit of tomato until they become wonderfully savory. It is one of the more typical variations and would be served as a rustic all-purpose side dish.
Beet Greens with Anchovies serves 2 CLICK here for a printable recipe
- 1 bn beet greens, thick stems removed
- 2 whole salt packed anchovies, tails & heads removed
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 clv garlic, minced
- 1â„4 T crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 roma tomato
- 2 T water
- 2 T parmesan cheese, grated
- 1â„2 t poppy seeds (optional)
Wash the greens extremely well by immersing them in cool water and agitate the water to remove any grit. Drain and repeat. Dry the greens well, then roll them, cigar style. Slice them crosswise into 1/4" chiffonades. Set aside.
Fillet the anchovies by brushing away any residual salt and press along the backbone with your thumb, turn it over and easily pull the backbone a ribs away. This step in unnecessary with canned fillets. Soak the fillets in cool water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes, if using. Cook, stirring, until fragrant with garlic, about 30 seconds.
Using the largest holes on a box grater held over the skillet, grate the tomato allowing all the pulp, seeds and juice to fall into the skillet. Add water and greens. Stir to combine, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are extremely tender and flavors meld, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the warm greens to a serving platter and top them with the grated parmesan cheese and (optionally) the poppy seeds.
SERIOUS FUN FOOD
Greg Henry
SippitySup
Comments
The beets sold here never
The beets sold here never have the greens attached. I've always wondered why since West Indians are very economical and would probably use it. This reminds me of dasheen ( a local root vegetable I believe you might know it as taro). The entire plant is used and the stems and leaves make a soup that is signature dish of this region, indeed it is even the national dish of my country. Well written post you drew me in immediately and made me laugh
I spent a bit of my youth in St. Maarten...
Could you be speaking of a green soup called callaloo? GREG
Beet greens & supermarket queues
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. It is a very rare thing here to find beets with the tops still on, or if they are then they are usually so limp and manky looking you think that even the compost heap might turn its nose up at them!! So I was delighted the other day to find a beautiful bunch of beets with a glorious bunch of perfect leaves still in tact. I immediately turned the beets into a warm salad with lentils, rinsed off the leaves and popped them in a bag in the vegie crisper, knowing they would be perfect to do something with, but having no idea exactly what to do with them. Now I do - thank you so much.
I always avoid the supermarket queue - here in New Zealand we have "self scan", where if you have less than 15 items you can scan your own items and pay a machine - absolutely no humans involved. No more irritating check out frustrations!
Sue
It's true...
we have those self check outs too in Los Angeles, but they don't make as funny a story! Cheers. GREG
My cafe being
in a health food store, we had to find ways of using every piece of edible food to spread the food love. So I made Curried Beet Greens as a side for Maui Maui, and it was a sweet spicy pairing, and one of my most popular sellers!
You do have to soak the greens to get the grit/dirt off, but also it helps revive them if you place them in a cold glass of water until you are ready to cook them, so as not to wilt (works for most greens, and moist towels as well).
Garden Greens
I gave up trying to use the greens that were attached to my grocery store or farmer's markets beets. They were so full of dirt that my soups, and everything else had an unnecessary crunch. So those go into the composter (gasp - I know) but I do use the greens from the beets that come from my garden. No dirt in my dish.
Colander
I find if I soak them in a colander for a good long time, agitating once in awhile and changing the water several times, that I can get them clean But of course If I had a garden then I'd do just the same as you! Enjoy your bounty! GREG
Don't forget turnip greens!
I LOVE beet greens along with turnip greens, etc. But have you noticed that the yellow beet greens have a weird flavor? They taste different than red ones. Just wondering if it was the batch I had because now I'm afraid to try them again. Their acrid flavor ruined my risotto!
I never forget turnip greens...
but I don't know the answer to the beet green (Yellow vs red) conundrum. GREG
I love me some beet greens!
Of course, I've never tried them with anchovies! I'm thinking Devon will be making these for me, as soon as our farmer's market reopens!! Come on spring!
I'm never throwing away the
I'm never throwing away the top of the beets again! This is a great idea!
I wouldn't do that, Greg!
Because the unfortunate truth is that I rarely buy beets! This needs to be remedied immediately.
Better than the beets
I am a serious greens lover. This looks delicious to me. I really might like it better than the beets! Beautiful presentation and photography as always. Have a great weekend Greg :-)
You like anchovies.
I can't tell you how happy this makes me. :) Love the anchovies, love the beet greens, love the blog.
Beet Greens
I applaud this post, Greg! I've been eating beet greens for years . They're extremely delicious and good for you.
Let's just say you were in my grocery store and there was a pile of loose beets (no greens) for 69 cents/lb. and then next to that there was a beautiful selection of organic bunched beets with their greens all wet and glistening for $2.69/lb. Damn straight I'm not throwing them away!
Let's say...
...I like the way you see things! GREG
Yum!
These look delicious and I love your presentation.
I loved your lead-up to this
I loved your lead-up to this recipe. And you're right. I am guilty as charged! Next time I won't be so quick to throw em away. Especially not now that I have this recipe.
Hee,hee,hee! I've always
Hee,hee,hee! I've always wondered what to do with those beautiful greens! I have converted quite a few beet "haters" with my roasted beet and goat cheese stacks. Beets are so very delicious when prepared correctly! Yours seems like a perfect way to eat your greens.
Better get back to the second graders and palmiers!
Greg, this is one of the best
Greg, this is one of the best written, funniest posts you have written and, strangely enough, it makes your point loud and clear. Yes, you nag me about beets but baby if you served this beet green dish to me - maybe over a tad of pasta? - I just know I'd live it!
Your writing has wonderful
Your writing has wonderful sense of human. :P
Ah, for the beet greens, I don't normally cook it. Now you have inspired me.
LOL. You known something like
LOL. You known something like that almost happened to me at the grocery. True story! I promise to make an effort to eat beat this year. Just not sure when, but I will. :) Why do they intimidate me so much?
A shopping cart with a defective wheel?
Never heard of such a thing. (It was probably that Mrs. Johnson's fault for running it over your foot the last time, she broke the cart!)
I just can't do the anchovies, am I forgiven?
I've learned to really
I've learned to really appreciate just how delicious a touch of anchovies can make a dish - love the sound of this recipe and as I imagine I am getting a huge batch of beets in my CSA box, I'll be trying this recipe in the very near future.
Even more sad than throwing out the greens
is that the grocery store by me doesn't even sell them attached! The only beets I could find had the tops taken off already :-/
Can't wait for my CSA to start again.
You can say that again.
You crack me up.
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