Archive for June, 2010

08 Jun Beet Greens … Now We're Getting Serious

As promised, more ways to learn to love beet greens (or, if you’re already a lover, more excuses to eat them). Also, I’ve official started tagging all of these recipes featuring (or sneaking in) greens in a “101 Ways to Love Greens” collection. I can feel your excitement pulsing through the internet.

To be totally honest, this is another cheater post. This recipe is so simple, I’d be embarrassed if it wasn’t also soooooo good and – almost more importantly – soooo versatile.

Basically, the way I learn to like something new is to transition into it. With dark leafy greens – spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, turnip greens, dandelion, etc – an easy way to transition, besides sneaking them into things like veggie burgers where you don’t see much evidence of the green or the sneak, is to cook them up with a green you’re familiar with. My rule of thumb: 1/3 new greens to 2/3 already loved greens. Chard being a pretty easy, mild green to love, I thought it would make a great companion for the beet greens. The sliced garlic and red pepper flakes give this dish a really nice kick, too.

Spicy Swiss Chard and Beet Greens

• 1 bunch beet greens (cut straight from the bunch of beets)
• 1 bunch chard
• 1 larger head of green garlic
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Clean chard and beet greens, break or cut off stems and set aside. (Tip: I clean greens by submerging them in a large bowl of water, agitating things a little and then leaving them be for a few minutes, to give any dirt time to loosen and sink to the bottom of the bowl. I then rinse each leaf and place in a colander. To me, this feels more efficient and saves more water than blasting a colander-full of greens while scrubbing dirt off each leaf with my hands.)

Thinly slice garlic and place in a small bowl. If you want to use every inch of those delicious, nutrient-packed greens, you can dice up the stems and set aside in another small bowl. Stack, loosely roll and slice beet greens and chard, place in a large bowl.

Heat a large saute pan on high. You want the pan really, really hot. Wok hot. In fact, if you have a wok, bust it out. When pan is hot, add a turn or three of olive oil, enough so that (after giving the oil a few seconds to warm up) when you give the pan a couple shakes and swirls, the oil evenly coats the bottom. Add sliced garlic and turn the heat down just a little to keep the garlic from instantly burning to a crisp. Don’t go far for long. You want to be close by to give the pan a shake or the garlic a quick stir with your wooden spoon to keep the slices from cementing themselves to the bottom of the pan. If you’re using the greens stems, give garlic half a minute, then add. Also, here is where I usually start seasoning with a few shakes of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir. Watch. Inhale. Get excited.

When the garlic looks like it’s starting to crisp up a little, get sort of lightly golden brown, then start layering in the cut greens. If the greens are too wet, the garlic will become soggy, so be sure to give the greens a chance to dry off a little after you wash them. Stir. Scrape bottom of pan. Adjust seasoning to taste. Watch. Stir. Inhale. Notice how the greens start to wilt and darken. Get more excited.

Cook until greens are tender, but not over done (e.g. not past the bright deep green). Remember, your pan’s pretty hot, so the greens will continue to cook a little after you turn the heat off and are “done.” Now the fun begins.

The true beauty of this dish is its versatility. You can eat it like it is, maybe with a side of black rice and roasted Thumbelina carrots, or try one of the following:

• toss with freshly cooked pasta, a little more olive oil and some shaved parmesan
• serve with a fried or poached egg on top and a side of sweet potato hash browns
• add sauteed tofu and garnish with avocado, diced with onion and cilantro
• use as a topping for pizza or flatbread – maybe toss a thinly sliced heirloom tomato on top
• layer in a warmed spinach or sprouted grain tortilla with scrambled eggs, black beans, and your favorite salsa for a breakfast burrito
• pile into a warm corn tortilla with grilled fish and onions for fish tacos – maybe top with some strained yogurt mixed with fresh herbs

Experiment and report back what fabulous options I missed.

01 Jun Beet Croquettes with a Secret Ingredient – Beet Greens!

I was almost done with a quick trip to Whole Foods a few days ago, when I realized I was missing a key ingredient for my refrigerator: greens. Anxious about the growing lines, I dashed to produce, skidded to a halt in front of a wall of meticulously stacked, gorgeous veggies and almost screamed — the price of kale and chard had jump. High. I was stumped. I can’t go a week without at least one bunch of greens, that’s crazy talk, but to pay that much….  And then … I was inspired. To my left, like a beacon of hope, glowed a bunch of beautiful golden beets each the size of my fist, with their greens attached. Talk about a two-fer!

I know, beet greens – you just “ick”ed a little, didn’t you?  Even the check-out guy assumed I’d want them loped off. (I think I startled him when I lunged forward a little to save them as I said, “no! Uh, thanks.”) Beet greens aren’t for the faint of heart, but if you’ve overcome your fears of chard and kale, you’re ready for these tangy dark leafies, especially when incorporated into Beet Croquettes with Tahini Sauce and Avocado. (I’m planning at least another post soon about beet greens – I’ve been a little focused on them lately and I’m a big fan of using the whole vegetable, so….)

This recipe was inspired by this recipe. The changes I made were (a) a reaction to fresh vegetables in my refrigerator that needed to be used up, (b) my desire to show an easy way to painlessly sneak beet greens into a meal, and (c) my hankering for something heartier – I actually wanted something more like a beet and veggie burger. So, you can call these Beet Croquettes, Beet Balls, Beet Burgers, Beet Nuggets of Joy … it all depends on what you’re hungry for and what you’ve around to add to them, as you’ll read below.

Beet Croquettes with Tahini Sauce and Avocado

1 bunch largish beets, with the greens

2 small zucchinis

2 carrots

1 green garlic, including tender parts of stem, or 2 medium cloves dried garlic

1/2 C ground flax (more or less)

1/3 C tahini

up to 1/4 C coconut milk (soy, cow or almond milk will work fine, too)

1/2 t cumin (more to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut off beet greens and any long root tails. Wrap unpeeled beets in foil and bake until easily pierced with a fork (mine were pretty thick, so they took a little more than an hour).

Meanwhile, wash and cut carrot and zucchini into matchsticks, then chop medium fine. Give the garlic a medium fine chop as well and toss vegetables together in a bowl. Select the tenderest beet greens – a good handful – wash thoroughly (they can get pretty dirty) and discard any tough stems. Stack, roll and chiffonade greens, then run your knife horizontally across the pile a couple of times to chop down the long strips. Add to other vegetables.

Heat a large pan (preferably one that you can put in the oven later), add a turn or two of olive oil, then saute veggies for a few minutes, until everything starts to soften. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix tahini and milk to create a thin sauce. Best to add the milk a little at a time. I like the sauce about half as thick as the tahini is straight out of the jar, and you may not need the whole 1/4 C of milk to get there. Add cumin. Set aside.

When beets are done, don’t turn off the oven, but do place foil package in a colander in the sink. Under a little running water, you should be able to fairly easily slide the skins off the beets. Use a knife to get any stubborn bits. If most of the skin stays stuck, chances are your beets are undercooked, which will make the next step a pain.

Place peeled beets in a large bowl and either mash well with a fork or bust out that immersion blender you haven’t seen since November’s start to soup season (if using the hand blender, make sure you use a deep bowl, which will prevent bits of beets from flying everywhere – trust me. I suffer so you don’t have to). Mash/blend beets into a corse mush (you don’t want them food processor pureed). Stir in sauteed vegetables, then add the ground flax.

Three things: (1) how much flax really depends on how juicy your beets are. You want enough flax to bind the beets and veggies into fairly firm croquettes/patties. So, start with a little (1/4 C?), then add more as necessary, possibly up to 1 C (my first attempt, final photo below, shows how they can get a little crumbly if you skimp on the flax). (2) Form mixture into patties whatever size strikes your fancy. If you’re in a croquette mood, they’ll be a little smaller and rounder than if you’re in a burger mood. You should get at least six smallish patties or four substantial ones, depending on that mood of yours. (3) You can use a number of foods to bind the veg mixture in lieu of ground flax, including breadcrumbs, ground nuts, or mashed lentils or chickpeas. Obviously, using the legumes will give you a heartier patty, which may be more satisfying if you’re learning toward the burger side of things. I was aiming for a lighter meal, somewhere between croquette and burger, so I went with ground flax.

As you form patties, place them in the saute pan (if you don’t have one that’s oven-safe, very lightly oil – a mister would be great here – the bottom of a baking dish and use that. A parchment-lined baking dish may work as well, but I can’t guarantee anything). Place pan into oven for 10-15 minutes, or until patties start to crisp up nicely.

Serve on a bed of lettuce greens, sprouted buns or just slap ‘em on a plate (should be enough for two people). Top with the tahini sauce and garnish with slices of avocado (note, if you slice the avocado too early, say when you put the beets in the oven to roast, your avocado will likely turn a little brownish, like mine in the photo below. Not as pretty – which is also partly due to some unfortunate early evening lighting, or lack thereof, in my kitchen – but just as yummy. Next time I’m going to dice the avos with some cilantro and white onion and layer the croquettes on top). Eat up and attribute the tastiness to your secret ingredient, the beet greens! (See, you totally forgot they were even in there – ha!)

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