I had a day to myself recently and decided to spend it doing nothing but cooking – not for the blog, not because I needed to figure out dinner, but for no other reason than I wanted to spend a morning luxuriating in the kitchen.
Wash beet greens in 2-3 changes of water – they tend to be sandy and sand is not delicious.
Almost my entire life revolves around food – from my day job as an event planner for Whole Foods to writing the blog. It is easy for food to become a chore rather than a pleasure.
So, the other day I grabbed a box of produce and just spent time playing in the kitchen for no other reason than to enjoy some loud music and time to myself and as a reminder of how much I really do love cooking.
I like to cook my greens until they are very bright and just wilted. Few things in life are worse than soggy greens.
At the end, I had some cumin-honey carrots, lovely ghee-roasted tomatoes, duck fat braised celery, and beets from the pressure cooker (after a pressure cooker disaster that made my entire kitchen look like either a Jackson Pollock painting or a murder scene).
I also had some leftovers – namely beet greens which are arguably the best part of the vegetable. Always buy beets with the leafy greens attached – it is like getting two veggies for the price of one.
I just LOVE these colors – greens and reds that become more vibrant with a little salt and a little heat
I like to sauté the greens (and stems for that matter) in just a little olive oil with a little salt and a lot of pepper. If I am feeling particularly decadent I’ll use bacon fat or duck fat if I really want to go over the top. I cook them until they are just wilted and bright green.
I segmented the entire grapefruit and then squeezed the extra juice from the body and the peels into the pan with the greens. Instant dressing.
From there I might add a splash of lemon juice or some roasted garlic or some fresh grated ginger or fresh turmeric.
Let the greens, grapefruit and juice get to know each other with a little heat.
I happened to have a bright ruby red grapefruit on hand and decided to segment it out and add the juice and the wedges to the pan – just long enough to heat through. I loved the vibrant colors and the bright flavor to match. Best part? It only took 4 ingredients and 10 minutes to make. Win and win.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Beet Greens, trimmed, rinsed well in two changes of water
- 1 teaspoon Rendered Fat - you could use bacon fat, duck fat or olive oil if you want to make it vegetarian
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 Ruby Red Grapefruit, peeled and segmented
Method
- Be sure to wash the beet greens throughly - beets grow in sandy soil and it sticks to the greens. Change the water at least twice to be sure to get all the grit off.
- Do not dry the greens when you remove them from the final soak. Trim the ends - 1-2 inches of stems are OK. Cut the beet greens into 1" ribbons.
- In a medium saute pan, heat the rendered fat over medium low heat. Add the greens to the pan and sauté lightly until they are wilted, but still firm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
- While the greens are cooking, peel and segment the grapefruit, saving the peels. Squeeze the juice from the peels into the pan with the greens to create a simple dressing. Add the grapefruit segments to the pan and allow the residual heat to soak into the fruit.
- Toss thoroughly and serve warm. Especially delicious with fish.
-Lydia
I first had farmstand fresh squeezed grapefruit way back in the day. Just picked a basket ago. Sublime. Citrus juicy goodness. A perfect pop. Thanks for the reminder.
I lived in the farmland area of South Florida for a few months. There is a fruit stand called the ‘Robert is Here’ stand and they specialize if fresh squeezed citrus – including key lime lemonade. Pure heaven.
Lydia,
My favorite greens from the farm share are beet greens. Their flavor is just the best, no matter how I prepare them! Yesterday I taught some young gardeners at our local historical society all about worm composting and garlic scapes. Afterwards the kids thinned out the beet and carrot beds, taking home armfuls of wonderful greens. I know I’ll get some soon in the farm share!
May I link your post in my Beet Recipes Collection of my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient? It is a resource for folks like me who need ideas for what to do with the goodies in the farm share box, in an Inlinkz collection with a thumbnail + link back to you.
Hi Kristin!
Beet greens were like the discovery of a lifetime for me. They are soooo delicious and can be prepared any number of ways. Glad to meet (virtually) a fellow fan. I have a CSA and a Community Garden plot as well – so you’ll see a lot more of these posts through the summer growing season.
Please do link to the post for the visual recipe index. Very flattered to be included. Hope you’ll follow along to catch more of these seasonal / farm centric posts. Best, Lydia
We love beet greens! The addition of grapefruit sounds especially wonderful.
Thanks Wicked Spatula (love the blog name BTW). A little citrus brightens up the earthy greens in the best possible way. Appreciate the comment!
I have beets growing in my garden and am excited to use the greens in this salad. I will probably use a different citrus because try as I might, I just am not into grapefruit.
Hi Emily! It would also be delish with just a splash of lemon juice or orange juice to capture the citrus notes. Blood Oranges are another option, but they can be tough to get this time of year since they are out of season.
These look so absolutely yummy! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Much appreciated! We sure do enjoy your blog as well.
0o0o! great flavor combo! I think Im going to try this but with some coconut oil to keep it vegan. Love the fresh flavors.
Chrysta – I regularly use coconut oil too – just depending on what we have on hand. Aren’t those colors just beautiful?