Sunday, June 17, 2018

Red Beet Top & Goat’s Cheese Bruschetta


Beets are widely available and delicious year round, but actually their peak season is June through October, when they are at their most tender and sweet. When buying fresh red beets, make sure to look for unblemished bulbs with unwilted greens. Whenever you buy beets (there a quite a few varieties out there),  it is always a good idea to buy them with their greens attached. That way, it's like getting two vegetables for the price of one. Around here I realized that there are two kinds of markets, either you can often get beet greens for free at the farmers' market because some people ask the vendors to chop off the tops when they buy their beets or it is almost impossible to find beets with their greens attached.

If you make this recipe, remember that it can be used for other types of greens as well. Also, the sautéed greens are fabulous on their own as a side dish, or you can toss the greens with couscous, , grains, your favorite pasta, or add them to a quiche, which I love to do quite often.






Red Beet Top & Goat’s Cheese Bruschetta

Ingredients
  • 1 or 2 bunches of  beet greens, use whole or chop coarsely if too large
  • some good olive oil
  • 1 scallions, washed, dried , thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced (optional, to taste)
  • ¼  teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)
  •  freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
  • a few slices of your favorite country-style loaf or sourdough bread, toasted, cooled
  • your favorite soft fresh goat’s cheese (it is nice to use fresh cheese from a local cheese manufacturer, if at all possible 

Preparation
  1. Wash the leaves in 2 or 3 rinses of water.
  2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. 
  3. Add the scallion, garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook, stirring, until the scallion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
  4. Add the beet greens to the pan (with the water still clinging to the leaves) in 1, 2 or more additions (depending on the size of your pan and the amount of greens you are using).
  5. Stir for a couple of minutes, until the leaves have wilted and are nicely seasoned/coated with garlic and oil.
  6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, remove from the heat and let cool a bit.
  7. While the greens are cooling a bit, prepare your bread slices. Toast or grill them, then put them on a platter. Top with goat’s cheese.
  8. Pile the warm greens on top of the prepared bread slices and serve immedaitely.

When you serve greens, it is always a delicious idea to serve a plate with fresh lemon wedges alongside, as a lot of people, including my family,  enjoy a few drops of freshly squeezed  lemon juice with their cooked greens.


For more Leaf-to-Root Eating inspiration, have a look at my recipe for:
  • Wild Garlic Quiche with Onion Skins in the Crust (HERE)
  • Grissini (Italian Breadsticks) with Red Onion Skins (HERE)



8 comments:

  1. Looks lovely and sounds scrumptious Andrea!

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Peggy. So nice to hear from you! Hope all is well with you and your family.
      All the best,
      Andrea

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  2. Delightful: So appetizing to view, so healthy to eat, so easy to make with a few good tips to boot: thanks! Well, sending this from wintery Australia: may just have to wait awhile for beetroot with tops :) !

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    1. Thank you very much for stopping by! Certainly appreciate your kind feedback to this blog post! It is nice to use veggies from "root-to-top" and I am making a concerted effort to use all parts of my veggies.
      Greetings back to Australia!

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  3. This is so colorful and I can imagine how flavorful! Luckily, even our supermarkets have the greens attached, although they are not always in the best shape. Those at the farmers market are wonderful!

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    1. Dear David, you will not regret using the tops (those from the farmers' market, that is...) of fresh red beets, they have a wonderful earthy flavor, similar to but different from young spinach. But being the very experienced homecook that you are, I am sure that you already cooked with red beet tops and enjoyed them.
      Ganz herzliche, sonnige Grüße,
      Andrea

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  4. Es ist schwer, guten Ziegenfrischkaese hier am Niederrhein zu bekommen. Dein Bruschetta sieht zum Anbeissen aus!!! LG

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    1. Liebe Wally, hier in der Gegend habe ich den ein oder anderen Ziegenhof ausfindig gemacht, ganz wunderbare Auswahl an Ziegenfrischkäse, Ziegenweichkäse Feta Art, Ziegenfrischmilch, Ziegenmilcheis usw. Ein wahrer Luxus, der unglaublich lecker schmeckt.
      Ganz liebe Grüße und Dankeschön für deinen wunderbaren Kommentar!
      Andrea

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