Did you get the tops of the beets along with your beets when you bought (or grew – I’m obsessed with seed tape!!) your beets? DON’T throw the greens away!! You paid for them, so why not get two vegetables for the price of one?
It doesn’t matter what type of beets you have, the greens are all edible. I’ve grown red beets and radish beets, and while it’s great to have fresh or pickled beets for salads, sautéed beet tops or beet greens are actually my favorite part of the beet to eat, and they have been ever since I was a little kid. The best part? they are really easy to prepare.
Beet Tops Can be substituted pretty easily for Swiss chard. In fact, I prepare beet tops the exact same way I would prepare Swiss chard – with a lot of garlic!!
So, there is no measuring or special anything required. Just use whatever amount of beet tops you have based upon the number of beets you have.
When getting in a store or at the farmer’s market, try to select beets which are still young and tender, and the greens fresh and not wilted.
Unlike some other root vegetable greens, the stems of the beet tops are tender, not stringy, so you can sautee them as well as the leaves. This is a great side dish for a fall or winter meal; great with braised meats like an Osso buco or a hearty pork tenderloin.
Sautéed Beet Tops
- Remove the greens from the beets.
- Wash the greens well, and remove any blemished areas on the leaves.
- Separate the red stems from the leaves, and chop them into small pieces. Because these take a bit longer to soften than the leaves, I always put them into the pan first.
- Coarsely chop the leaves separately. I like them in about inch thick ‘slices”
- Heat some olive oil in a pan with at least 2 cloves of smashed garlic
- Optional – add some sliced onion along with the garlic. This will brighten up the red to a nice rosy color.
- When the oil is hot, throw in the cut, red stalks first for several minutes. When the stalks are tender, add the rest of the chopped beet tops (greens) and sauté the beet tops until just wilted.
Sautéed beet tops add a lovely color to your dinner table!
