Beet greens salad, October 2012
When my husband brought home the beets that were on my grocery list, they were attached to the most beautiful beet greens I’ve ever seen. I did a quick menu revision and made this beet greens salad to serve alongside chilled creamy beets soup. The salad recipe is based on one that the restaurant staff at Tomasso Trattoria east of Boston like to make. Our dinner definitely had a farm-to-table feel. If you make this salad, be ready for a real treat.
The greens are cooked twice—blanched then sauteed. This technique is called ripassata in Italian, which translated means something like “second pass.” The process allows some of the greens’ bitterness to be squeezed out.
The recipe also works well with Swiss chard.
| Beet Greens Salad | | Print |
- 1 large or 2 small bunches beet greens, from approximately 6 beets (about 9 ounces greens), including stems
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (or 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped)
- Preheat oven to 300°F (for toasting almonds).
- On highest heat, bring to boil about 4 quarts of salted water (use 1 to 2 teaspoons salt).
- While water heats, prepare greens, toast the almonds, and make the vinaigrette: Rinse the beet greens, changing the water as necessary until clear. Place almonds on a small baking sheet and toast 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, pepper to taste, and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
- When the water boils, add the greens to the pot and bring to boiling again. Blanch (boil) them for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. With hands, squeeze out excess liquid. Chop the greens coarsely.
- In a skillet or the pot you used to boil the greens, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. When oil is warm, add the greens and garlic. Turn the heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until the greens are tender but still bright in color.
- Transfer greens to a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss well. Add the tomatoes and almonds and toss again.
Shared at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.
What a beautiful dish!
And simple too. I’ll have to run to the store before the hurricane real quick. 🙂
Miachel, I hope you’re doing OK post-storm!