In Your Bin July 12th: Beets!
Beet harvest has begun! Often when we are at one of our Farmers’ Markets people will ask us to take the tops off the beets. We are happy to do that because our chickens look forward to market day and the bin of this and that discarded vegetables. But in that same moment another customer will say “I’ll take those, don’t let them go to waste, they are delicious and so good for you”. So we are equally happy to bag the tops and pass them on. I did not grow up eating beet tops and have been slow to shift into a beet top fan. But this week I tried a simple recipe and thought to pass it on, see below! The internet abounds in such recipes. This one was a success at our table and there were no leftovers!
In Your Bin
Regular Share: Swiss Chard, Head Lettuce, Garlic Scapes, Beets, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Pak Choi, Cilantro, Green Onions
Large Share: Regular Plus Dill, Celeriac, Green Garlic, Cabbage, Cauliflower
Recipe: Beet Tops
- Beet Tops: Rinse, pat dry and chop tops of one beet bunch.
- Heat frying pan with approx. 2 tbsp choice of butter or oil.
- Lightly fry 2 cloves chopped garlic – (I used 1/4 cup chopped garlic scapes because there are lots lurking in our fridge at the moment!)
- Keep stirring about 1 – 2 mins until they begin to soften.
- Add 2 tsp ground coriander (I used cumin because as usual I was out of coriander!)
- Stir to coat spice with oil about 1 min.
- Add beet tops and toss gently about 2 mins.
- Add water. Here the recipe says to add more if you like a “soupy gravy” or less if you prefer. Not a very clear measurement! So I went with 1 cup and that worked well.
- Cover and simmer 7 – 8 mins. Salt to taste.
- Before serving add the juice of 1 lemon. Only add at the end so it does not “evaporate” while cooking.
To be honest when I tasted it at the 4 minute mark I was not impressed. But as it simmered the greens softened and absorbed a delicious flavour. It would be possible to leave out the lemon if there isn’t one in your fridge and it still tastes wonderful. I also needed to triple the recipe given the crowd that was eating and I made it in a wok. It would be great with quinoa or brown rice. All this to say – be versatile, try this and that because it is true to say we felt a boost to our energy having eaten it!
~Elizabeth – the Farmer in the Kitchen!