I have a confession: I hate beets. I can’t eat more than a few bites of them. I’ve even had nice, well-seasoned beets… but after a couple bites, the beet flavor is overwhelming, and I can’t go on.
I’ve heard for some time that beet greens (literally, the green, leafy part of the beet plant) are quite tasty, and I like greens, so I was curious to try them. But I never did, because beet greens are always sold with beets attached, and if I bought them, I might have to use the beets. I guess I could have cooked the greens and tossed the beets, but that just seemed wrong.
So I was amazed when I discovered nearly beet-less greens at the farmer’s market. There exist varieties of beets that are grown primarily for their greens. The greens grow big and tasty, and the beet (root) part is small, stunted, and not meant to be eaten. Perfection! At last I could try some beet greens in good conscience.
The verdict: tasty. They’re very mild, and ever-so-slightly sweet, not cloyingly sweet like beets. In fact, they taste more like spinach than beets, and had almost none of the bitter flavor that so many people dislike about greens. If you like eating healthy but aren’t a fan of kale, you might give these a try.
I prepared my beet greens the way I prepare most unfamiliar foods: sauted with olive oil and garlic. I served them over polenta, with some mozzarella cheese on top. The bunch in the picture made a greens-heavy meal for one, but could comfortably have fed two.
6 Comments
Another beet lover here. But I had to convince myself – I admit, it took a little while. Might not have been able to do it if it weren’t for borscht – my favorite comfort soup ever.
I also love beet greens–but i love the beets, too. However, if you have a tiny bit of space, or even a windowbox, you can grow the best the tasty equivalent of these wonderful greens–it’s called Swiss Chard, or just Chard. There is no waste, and the greens are harvested by snapping off the outermost leaves, while the center clusters just keep coming and coming, all season long, and sometimes into late fall. You will love it!
I love chard, too – I actually just planted some this weekend, after finishing off my kale from the spring. Delicious stuff!
oh no! a beet hater! Personally, I love them… oddly though, I didn’t even consider beets until I read Tom Robbins’ ‘Jitterbug Perfume’ — it might just give you a different perspective on beets!
Such an awesome, awesome book. My favorite of his, I think. That or Skinny Legs.
Let’s make a deal – you can have greens, I’ll have the beets. I love beets. I love them every day. I’ll eat them every day. I’ll eat them in anything! All I do is take some beets, quarter them up, spray on some olive oil, and roast them. I don’t even need to peel the skins.
Beets are so sweet and delicious, they make sugar out of them.