Red, White & Greens (AKA Beets and Spring Turnips)

This springtime dish is perfect for tender spring beets and turnips that don't need peeling.  Cook the bulbs first, then the greens.

Prep time:  10 Minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch young small beets, with greens
1 bunch young small spring turnips, with greens
1/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Separate the beets and turnips from their greens.  Scrub the bulbs, remove the tap root, and cut into 1/8 inch slices.  Coarsely chop and rinse the greens.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat and cook the beet slices in a single layer for 5 minutes, turning occasionally.  Add the sliced turnips and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the beets are tender when speared with a fork.  Remove to a side plate.

Add the remaining olive oil, the onion, and the garlic to the saute pan.  Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then add the greens and cover.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until greens are wilted.

Arrange greens on a serving platter, and top with cooked beets and turnips.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Sauteed Beet Greens with Gorgonzola Butter

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick









The earthy sweetness of the greens make an irresistible pair with the salty creaminess of the Gorgonzola butter.  I took inspiration for the Gorgonzola Butter from Deborah Madison's Fried Winter Squash with Gorgonzola Butter, which is itself a fantastic recipe.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes
Serves:  4

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cups beet greens, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons Gorgonzola

DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat and cook the beet greens, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until greens and stems are soft.  Cover and remove from heat.

Using a mortar (or a small food processor) process first the garlic and salt, then incorporate the butter and cheese.

Distribute greens to serving plates, and top with Gorgonzola butter.

Try to allow time for the butter to begin to melt over the greens before devouring.

Balsamic Glazed Beet Greens

Balsamic vinegar and beet greens (along with cousins spinach and chard) are beautiful together.  Here the reduced vinegar takes on a syrupy quality - a little goes a long way

Prep time:   10 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Serves:   4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
4 TB balsamic vinegar
2-3 TB olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 cups chopped fresh beet greens and stems, washed

DIRECTIONS
Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until reduced by half.  Turn off heat.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saute pan or skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute.  Add the beet greens and stems and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until wilted and the stems are the texture you like (I like some al-dente texture). 

Distribute greens to serving plates and drizzle each serving with your Balsamic syrup.  Delicious.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Jalapeno Beet Greens

Seasonal ingredients enable unusual - and delicious - combinations. Here, sweet caramelized onions and beet greens marry beautifully with the mild heat of jalapeno peppers.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2-4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, 1/4 inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 bunch beet greens, cleaned, stems separated and diced, leaves coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
4-5 leaves fresh sage, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and membranes removed, minced
1 sprig rosemary leaves (about 2 teaspoons fresh), minced
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat and saute the onions and beet stems for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the jalapeno, rosemary and sage. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. Add the beet greens, stir and cover, and cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring a few times, or until the greens are wilted and stems are tender. Serve, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Roast & Saute Platter

Photo:
Tod Dimmick











This dish turns the waste-nothing approach into a somewhat dramatic vegetable dish, roasted vegetables on a bed of greens. This version uses radishes, beets, fennel, & spring onions, but substitute at will.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time:45 minutes
Serves: 4-6

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 bunch beets, cleaned, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 bunch radishes, cleaned, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 bunch kohlrabi, peeled if necessary, cut into 1/2" chunks, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 fennel bulb with a good amount of stem, cleaned and cut into 1/2" chunks
Spring onions or scallions in the amount you like, cut into 1/4 inch dice.
salt and pepper to taste
shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix the olive oil, garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl.

Chop the beets into 1/2 inch chunks, toss in a large bowl with the olive oil mixture, scoop with a slotted spoon into a large baking dish, and roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the radishes, kohlrabi, Fennel, and scallions, and toss in the bowl with the remaining olive oil mixture. At the beets' 20-minute mark, scoop in the rest of the vegetables and roast for another 20 minutes, stirring a few times, or until all vegetables are tender.

While chopped vegetables are roasting, heat any remaining olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat (add a little more oil if necessary) and saute the greens until tender. Arrange greens on a platter, top with roasted roots, season to taste with salt, pepper & parmesan, and serve.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Freezing for Winter

It probably sounds insane to be thinking about winter at the height of summer, but this is the part of the growing season where we sometimes get too much of a good thing. This is a huge opportunity to start storing up fresh greens for winter. The method is simple: bring a big pot of water to boil and blanch your greens for a minute. Drain in a colander, rinse quickly under cold water to stop them from cooking further, and store in labeled freezer bags.

In February, pull one of those big bags out of the freezer and voila, greens from Powisset to use as a starting point for all kinds of recipes, from sauteed vegetable dishes to the perfect addition to soups. There's hope after all...

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Beet Greens with Fresh Mozzarella

Photo:
Tod Dimmick











Two of my favorite things, fresh, earthy beet greens and mild, creamy mozzarella. I admit it's a bit indulgent.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

3 TB olive oil
2 garlic scapes or 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 large bunch beet greens, rinsed and coarsely chopped, stems separated from the leaves.
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, sliced

Heat the oil in a saute pan or large skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute, stirring. Add the beet stems and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the leaves and saute for another 4-5 minutes or until tender. Arrange the mozzarella over the greens in the pan, cover and heat for one minute further. Distribute to serving plates and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

This method will also work with spinach and chard (both also part of the same family).

Beets and Beet Greens

Beets (Beta vulgaris) are a widely cultivated plant related to amaranth, chard and commercially grown sugar beet. You will find these sweet and tasty roots and greens in your share throughout the growing season. At the farm, we grow red beets, yellow beets, and pink-white ringed Chioggia beets. Beetroots are high in vitamins A and C, carotenes, folate, manganese and potassium. Beet greens also provide extra vitamin C, calcium and iron.

Beetroots will store for a very long time, for 3 months or more in optimal conditions! Cut off the greens and keep roots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store beet greens, cut away from roots, rinse and keep in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Roots: Peeling is a myth! No need to do so, just scrub them clean under running water. Try them raw, grated into salads or as a dipping veggie. Cook beets by boiling whole (until a fork pierces through easily, 40 minutes or so) or steaming, slip off skins, slice them and toss at room temperature with a simple vinaigrette. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1-2 hours until fork can pierce easily. On an outdoor grill, place beets on heavy foil, drizzled with oilve oil, salt and pepper, wrap tightly and cook about 30 minutes.

Greens: Wash well. Substitute them in any dish calling for spinach or a cooked green. Try steaming or sauteeing greens with garlic and olive oil. Squeeze a little lemon juice on top.


Beet and Fennel Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette
Serves 4

Salad:
4 large or 6 small beets
1 bulb fennel
Black pepper to taste

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
Grated zest of 1 clementine
Juice of 3 clementine
4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Scrub beets and boil covered in a pot until they can be stabbed easily with a fork. Drain and cool under cold running water. You can rub off the peels and stems easily now. Slice beets thin and refrigerate.
2. Trim outer parts and base of fennel. Slice fennel as thin as possible. Soak in ice water while you prepare dressing.
3. Whisk all dressing ingredients together.
4. Arrange 4 plates by covering bottom of plate with beet slices, put 1/4 the fennel on top, sprinkle with rosemary, pour dressing and sprinkle pepper on top.
Recipe based on: The Cafe Pongo Cookbook by Valerie Nehez


Beet Chocolate Cake
Serves 10:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3-4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
1/4 oil
3 cups shredded raw beets

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9" cake pans. Whisk dry ingredients together. Melt chocolate very slowly over low heat or in double boiler. Cool chocolate; blend thoroughly with eggs and oil. Combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture, alternating with the beets. Pour into pans. Bake until a fork is clean when removed from the center, 40-50 minutes.
Recipe from: From Asparagus to Zucchini.


Warm Beet Salad: Balsamic Beets and Beet Greens
from "greens glorious greens" by johnna albi and catherine walthers.

ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 bunches beets with beet greens (about 6 medium beets)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
sea salt to taste
1 vidalia or red onion, sliced into thin half-moons

Toast the walnuts in an iron skillet on the stove or a baking dish in a 375˚F oven.
Cut the beets from the greens. Chop the stems at the base of the leaves and discard stems. Wash the greens and cut into 1/2 inch strips.
Scrub beets and place unpeeled in a steamer and cook until tender (about 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the beets). Slip off the skins of the cooked beets under cold water.
Cut beets into quarters and cut each quater into 1/4 inch slices.
Place in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, balsamic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and salt.
Set asideIn a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add the greens cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes until wilted.
Add the beets to heat through (1-2 minutes).
Move to a bowl, garnish with toasted walnuts and serve.

Serves 4