Beet greens

I was at the Farmers Market this weekend buying beets and the lady next to me was asking for the greens. The gentleman selling was glad to accomodate her. He mentioned that most people want the beet greens removed because they're messy. He gave her a big bag filled with greens to go with her purchase. They had a "green" discussion and I mentioned that I have always used just the beets and I've thrown out the greens. The woman scolded me (nicely) and said they were great and filled with nutrients.

Other than Kennyz's creamed beet greens (see photo in "What are you making for dinner" thread), I don't see much else on this topic. I have a few questions. How do you store them, and how long do they last? (I got them last Saturday, are you supposed to use them right away?). Also, any recipe ideas? Are they like kale, which I love? Since I've been throwing them away all these years, I would love to hear your tips and suggestions.

Anything you can do with collards or kale you can do with beet greens.

Yes, you can use them almost exactly as you would use kale, except that they turn everything pink! I folded some blanched beet greens into my pasta shells and bechamel, and they turned the dish a rather shocking color. However, it faded after baking for a half-hour.

I usually keep them in a plastic bag, with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, and they last at least a week, sometimes more (depends on how fresh they are, how wet they are, etc.).

i boil em up and drizzle lemon and olive oil on them

Beet greens are in the same family as swiss chard, and can be treated similarly, though the stalks are usually not as tender. The greens dont need to be cooked as long as Kale and collards usually are. i just saute them with butter and garlic. Often when I cook beets, I will saute the chopped up root for 15-20 minutes, and then add the greens for the last 5 minutes and serve it all together.

-Will

I find raw beet greens much more tender than kale, and I use them in salad's all the time. They take very well to hearty dressings like caesar. You just need to be careful to remove the all remnants of stem, which can be very tough to chew.

The stems need longer cooking than the leaves. We tend to cut the stems off and cook them separately. Any or all of olive oil, lemon and garlic applied late in the cooking process are good. Beet stems freeze well providing they are blanched before freezing. The stems can be quite good even when the leaves are old or ratty looking.

Tender young beet leaves can be cooked using just about any preparation for spinach with similar degree of volume collapse. Somewhat more mature beet leaves with the center ribs removed can be handled the same way. Mature beet greens are best handled more along the lines of Swiss chard.

Golden beet greens are more tender with a delicate flavor compared to red beet greens. The same can be said for the roots of both types. Golden beets are actually a form of sugar beet and so are much sweeter than red beets.

I actually like the greens and dislike the root. I typically tear off the greens and either throw away or give away the beet roots in my CSA box.

like everyone else, I typically prepare like spinach or chard. olive oil saute, lemon, garlic.

WillG wrote:Beet greens are in the same family as swiss chard, and can be treated similarly, though the stalks are usually not as tender. The greens dont need to be cooked as long as Kale and collards usually are. i just saute them with butter and garlic. Often when I cook beets, I will saute the chopped up root for 15-20 minutes, and then add the greens for the last 5 minutes and serve it all together.

-Will

I love doing this with small, whole baby beets with butter and maybe a shot of citrus, perhaps o.j. The combination of the red beets and greens is beautiful and delicious.

janeyb wrote:I was at the Farmers Market this weekend buying beets and the lady next to me was asking for the greens. The gentleman selling was glad to accomodate her. He mentioned that most people want the beet greens removed because they're messy. He gave her a big bag filled with greens to go with her purchase. They had a "green" discussion and I mentioned that I have always used just the beets and I've thrown out the greens. The woman scolded me (nicely) and said they were great and filled with nutrients.
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The key is that they need to be young greens. Some of the older ones can be really stringy and may be unpleasant.

It has been years since I have had beet greens. For some unknown reasons, the deer in my father's garden prefer to go straight for the beet greens every year.

On some forums, y'know, one gets scolded for rebooting an old thread, but I'm glad we mostly don't do that here, because I had beet green questions today and I was glad to find this thread again.

I planted two varieties of beets in pots, much too crowded, and it's apparent now there was not enough space for beets to develop to a decent size in either pot. The luscious growth of greens, however ...!

That, and I've been trying a "vegetarian every other day" routine lately, which is obviously easiest in the summer.

Thanks to all who have posted in this thread with salad and cooking suggestions. Especially you, Will, what a font of beet green knowledge you are! I vaguely recall having sauteed them like spinach in the past, but I'd forgotten the details, and I hadn't thought of adding some sour cream. I also appreciate the reminder of how healthy beet greens are.

I might have missed but don't think I saw mentioned something I've read elsewhere about both beets and their greens lasting longer in the fridge if you don't cut the greens off until you are ready to eat them. Someone please correct me about that if I am wrong.

Ooh yes! I got a huge bag of them at Wicker Park market because no one buying beets wanted theirs.

Sautee with onion, then toss in some raisins and lemon juice.

Make a risotto, and near the end toss in cubed roasted beets and blanched beet greens. I like it with goat cheese, but parmesan would work too.

I don't like them raw in a smoothie, though YMMV.

I always get beets with the greens from the locals.
My experience with the greens is that whether attached or detached from the beets the greens wither rapidly.
As soon as I can I cut the greens from the beets, wash throughly, dry in a spinner and bag, into the fridge.
My favorite recipe is to crisp some Benton's choped bacon in a casserole pan, remove the bacon, saute the greens in the bacon fat, add the bacon and serve. No salt required but not as healthy as some other recipes.-Richard