Sauteed Beet Greens Recipe
This sauteed beet greens recipe treats the leafy tops most home cooks throw out like the side dish they actually are. I cook them in olive oil with shallots, garlic, and fresh thyme, finish with lemon, and the pan is ready in 8 minutes.
Ingredients
- 25 large beet green leaves and stems
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 peeled small dices shallot
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- Juice of ½ lemon, about 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse your fresh beet greens to rid of any dirt.
- Remove the stems away from the beetgreen leaves.
- Stack several beetgreen leaves and roll them up. Next, make 1” slices into the leaves.
- Thinly slice the beet stems.
- Add some oil to a large frying pan or rondeau and heat over medium-high heat for 45 seconds.
- Add in the beet greens and stems and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until the greens start to wilt.
- Turn the heat down to medium and scoot all the greens to one side of the pan, on the other side of the pan, add the butter, shallots, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes while constantly stirring.
- Mix the ingredients together and then finish with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.
- Serve with additional minced fresh thyme.
Notes
As a chef with experience, I highly recommend doing this in the right order on the heat, because that single decision is what makes or breaks the pan. The stems and leaves go into hot oil first on their own to wilt, and only once they are halfway there do I push them to one side and add the butter, shallot, and garlic to the empty side. Drop the garlic in at the start and it scorches before the leaves are ready, and the whole pan tastes burned.
Lift greens out of the rinse water, do not pour them: A gritty bunch goes into a bowl of cool water, the dirt sinks to the bottom, and I lift the greens straight up out of the water. Pouring everything into a colander dumps the grit right back onto the leaves.
Pat the leaves dry before they hit the oil: Wet leaves steam in the pan instead of wilting, and steamed beet greens come out limp and grey instead of bright. I spin them in a salad spinner or blot with a kitchen towel right before they go in.
Move fast once the lemon goes in: Lemon juice on hot greens dulls the color of the leaves over time, so I finish with the lemon and plate within a minute. Holding the pan with lemon already added is the fastest way to take the dish from bright green to army green.
Pinch of red pepper flakes: A small pinch goes in with the garlic and shallot. The heat blooms in the butter and threads through the pan instead of sitting on top.
Make-Ahead: I cook this dish to order. The greens are at their best the moment they come off the heat, and they lose their brightness if they sit. If I want to save time, I will prep the greens in advance, rinse, separate, and slice everything, and stash the prepped greens in the fridge until I am ready to cook.
How to Store: I keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Reheat: I warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until it shimmers, drop the cold greens in, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes until they are heated through. The greens can release liquid as they reheat, so I keep the heat steady and the pan moving. If the oil ever flares from the moisture, I lift the pan off the burner for a second and the flame dies on its own.
Nutrition
Calories: 199kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 539mgPotassium: 1848mgFiber: 9gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 15311IUVitamin C: 73mgCalcium: 290mgIron: 6mg