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2ajsmama

What to do with beet greens and chard?

2ajsmama
11 years ago

The only things left in the garden. I tried sauteed chard with garlic and olive oil last week, DH didn't seem thrilled, DS said he'd eat it but didn't care for it, and I didn't even like it that much. It was better in a turkey sausage-white bean-chard soup.

But I pulled all my big woody beets today, have a huge colander full of beet greens I don't know what to do with.

Still chard out there until I get rid of the beet greens.

Thanks

Comments (14)

  • digdirt2
    11 years ago

    Depends on what you like. Down south they are commonly canned, just like spinach, collards, turnip greens, and other leafy greens. Nothing like a mess of boiled greens with bacon or ham or sausage and cornbread in the winter.

    You can also dehydrate them just as many do with spinach. Then they can be crumbled into all sorts of winter dishes.

    Dave

  • michelelc
    11 years ago

    I also saute either of them, as you do, but I add some soy sauce to give it some extra flavor. Also, I find beet greens are a nice addition to a stir fry.

  • michelelc
    11 years ago

    Also, I've made this recipe several times, and it's quite good and pretty easy. It's a Mario Batali recipe from the Food Network
    Swiss Chard Tart: Pasticcio di Bietole al Forno

    Ingredients
    2 pounds Swiss chard, washed and spun dry
    4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
    2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    1/4 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/8 cup
    3 large eggs
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
    1 cup bread crumbs
    Directions
    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

    Bring 8 quarts water to a rolling boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

    Roughly chop the Swiss chard, discarding the rough stems. Add the Swiss chard to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and set aside.

    In a 12-inch saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over a medium flame until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and the parsley. Let cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let cool.

    Meanwhile, break the eggs into a small bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of Parmigiano and, using a whisk, mix until the ingredients are well-blended. Add the egg mixture to the cooled Swiss chard and toss to combine.

    Using the remaining olive oil to lightly grease a shallow 9-inch round or oval baking dish. Dust the bottom of the baking dish with 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Carefully place the Swiss chard and egg mixture into the pan. Dust with the remaining Parmigiano and then the remaining bread crumbs.

    Bake until the top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Serve hot or room temperature.

  • 2ajsmama
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks - no PC, so I'll try blanching and freezing according to Spinach instructions. I do like beets (but these got away from me) and spinach. I don't know about anyone else in the family. DH is from TX but I don't know if they do greens there like they do in Southeast (or mid-South).

    Michele's recipe sounds good - I also have a good spinach quiche recipe (that used frozen spinach and cheese mixture), that sounds similar but uses a crust. DH used to like that, I don't recall if DS ever had it. DD doesn't eat "dinner food" except for plain pasta, a couple ounces of plain baked or grilled meat, and then either fruit or raw baby carrots (I have to plant more, and earlier, next year, she prefers the real baby carrots to the "baby cut carrots" they sell in store).

    She swears she likes kale but I think she just used it as an excuse the beginning of the summer - "I'm eating my kale!" to spend 1/2 hr chewing on 1/2 oz of (raw) greens...

    She recently discovered she likes scrambled eggs (esp. fresh eggs) so maybe she'll try this?

  • pixie_lou
    11 years ago

    We belonged to a CSA 6 or 7 years ago. I still have nightmares about the weekly greens we got. Huge bundles of kale and chard and beet greens and turnip greens. I still can't bing myself to eat greens after that experience! So I say chicken food!

    Back in the days when I did eat greens, I would saut� them I olive oil with sliced onion, add some diced tomatoes, a splash of balsamic, and a spoonful of brown sugar.

  • JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
    11 years ago

    When I'm overloaded with greens, I blanch them for two minutes qnd freeze them. The frozen lumps get tossed into winter soups. Here in southern California, chard overwinters and provides fresh greens all season long.

  • michelelc
    11 years ago

    You can add more eggs to the Swiss Chard Tart recipe. Last time I made it, I put 5 eggs in and it was more like a quiche, but without the fat of cream or a crust with butter.

  • tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
    11 years ago

    The French make a lovely dish with caramelized onions, chard, eggs and parmesan, sort of like a frittata.

    I would take some of the greens, dehydrate them and pulverize in a blender and then you can add the powder to soup stock, spaghetti sauce, whatever for an extra bit of nutrition.

    We also use blanched, frozen and chopped greens to add to recipes in the winter, omelettes, dips, a pot of beans, pureed with cream or ricotta or whatever for a pasta sauce, soups, etc.

  • ekgrows
    11 years ago

    I love chard. Still have to pick a lot of mine. I blanch and freeze whatever I don't eat fresh, and incorporate it into a lot of my existing recipes - like soup, cheese or chicken enchiladas, scalloped potatoes (got that idea from an Emeril recipe), layered in lasagna, on pizza, in quiche, etc. Funny - I adore chard, but don't care much for beet greens. They taste totally different to me - even though they are related. hmm....

  • tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
    11 years ago

    Here is the recipe for the omelette of which I spoke. It originates in the Nice region of France and is called trouchia. This is the recipe I have followed in the past.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Chard and onion Omelet, Trouchia

  • lakelifer
    11 years ago

    I substitute beet greens for spinach in most recipes calling for spinach.

    A really good way to use a large quantity of them is a Spinach/Tomato lasagna based on a Cook's Country recipe 2012 season on PBS. BTW the lasagna tasted heavenly.

    If you have room the extra "red" juice from the beet greens (which a 1/2 a cup is added back in the recipe) can be saved for borscht.

  • kastle
    11 years ago

    I pur�e raw kale (would work with beet greens & chard I'd think) with garlic and add it to the water I cook rice in. If you use chicken stock w this it makes great rice. My toddler loves it.

    I freeze extra in muffin tins (1/2 c) and then place in a bigger bag in freezer

  • nancyofnc
    11 years ago

    I don't care for greens that much so I hide them in lasagna or soup. However, I froze all the Swiss chard I could get to make this wonderful vegetable tart. I make it once a month at least as a side dish but is good as an appetizer too. It takes 2 pounds of chard and when ribs removed and chopped up is about 6 cups before slicing into wide ribbons then cooked for 10 min to soften. You can also make it with other vegetables like squash or turnip greens if you Google erbazonne.

    Lidia's Italy is a show on food channels or sometimes on public broadcasting stations and who has authored several wonderful cookbooks. This particular recipe is simple to make, the dough is basic and foolproof. The combination of chard, cheese, ricotta, garlic and eggs is magical and delicious hot or cold. The recipe URL is missing the ricotta - add 1 cup or more with the eggs.

    Her dough is here: 2 cups unbleached AP flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 cup evoo. Mix it in the food processor adding 1/3 cup or less ice water, knead for a minute or two, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour before rolling out. It is made on a jelly roll pan with the edges free form to wrap over the filling for a couple of inches only.

    Now that you've reminded me, I think I'll go make some for Thanksgiving!

    Nancy

    Here is a link that might be useful: Erbazzone

  • chervil2
    11 years ago

    I have no guilt about composting the majority of my beet greens. I was very satisfied with a beet green kimchee that I made this summer.

    Ingredients:
    - the chopped greens from 6 beets
    - 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
    - 2 inch of ginger, peeled and minced
    1 large onion finely chopped
    - 1 tsp red pepper flakes from dried chicken heart peppers
    - salt 1/3 t per pint
    - water, as needed for 5 pints total
    Let ferment a couple days at room temperature and then refrigerate. I tasted the kimchee each day and decided I liked the product with two days of room temperature fermentation.

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