It’s a real shame that people don’t eat beet greens. When I was talking to my dad last weekend and I prepared him Swiss Chard for the first time (which he loved), I told him that the chard was very similar in taste to beet greens. “Beet greens?”, He said, “I just throw those out at the supermarket!” What a waste. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret….beet greens are delicious. Really.
I made this meal after a trip to the green grocer. I bought two bunches of fresh local beets and I used the beets to make a tangy salad. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with the greens, but when dinner reared it’s head a couple days later, I pulled the greens out of the crisper along with a couple of potatoes and decided to fry the two together. The idea for the poached eggs came moments later when the beet greens shrunk considerably while sauteing, leaving the meal less hearty than I had hoped for. The eggs were a good call, making the meal an ideal rustic home-style dinner that would work equally well for a brunch.
I used proscuitto in this recipe, but you could easily leave it out for a vegetarian dish or sub in some salty feta instead for a nice bite. I’ve made beet greens before and I’ll make them again. Hopefully you will too.
beet greens & fried potatoes topped with poached eggs
2 large potatoes
1-2 T olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices of proscuitto, diced
1 large bunch of beet greens, rinsed thoroughly & roughly chopped
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 T fresh rosemary
2 T fresh parsley
salt & pepper
4 poached eggsBoil potatoes until tender. Slice into rounds and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute garlic, onions, and proscuitto add in sliced potatoes and fry until golden on both sides.
Boil water in a medium sized pot and start poaching your eggs. Meanwhile, move potatoes to one side of the pan and add in beet greens, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. When beet greens get wilty, about 2 minutes or so, toss with fresh rosemary and parsley and stir around the potatoes into the mix. Divide mixture onto 2 plates and top with poached eggs.
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So vibrant!
Beet greens are a popular staple in Greek cuisine and they were always served in my household on Sundays with fried fish. It is common practice in Greek cuisine to overcook the greens, to the point that they are limp and don’t require much chewing 😀 Nevertheless, I enjoy beet greens with olive oil and oodles of lemon juice, a chunk of salty feta, some olives, a few anchovies and a ripped off corner of a baguette loaf. So good!
I love the beet greens! I just picked up some beets at the market this morning, so I think I might try your poached eggs with them – looks yummy!
That sounds good and it’s pretty healthy!
I absolutely love beet greens and they are on of the treats of my vegetable box as the beets always have their greens attached. I love making meals like this and we often have some sort of veggies mid-week with a poached egg on top. It’s like the poached egg makes a meal out of anything!
You are so good for always preparing such healthy, yet tasty meals & snacks. I need to adapt more of this thinking…
I’ve never had beet greens!! I think it’s time to give them a try though, this sounds wonderful!
I’m a big fan of all greens and without a doubt that includes beet greens. I really like the combo with poached egg!
I’ve been meaning to try beet greens, this looks fantastic!
it is indeed, thanks, veggiegirl!
yeah, it’s pretty healthy, spare ribbon. but it’s also really delicious!
bijoux, i’ll bet they’re great with feta! what isn’t?
let me know if you give this a try, gingerly!
i agree, helen, about poached eggs making a meal. definitely.
thanks dawn, i try! i don’t always succeed, but i do try 🙂
cakespy, what are you waiting for?! get to it.
mevrouw, it’s great with the egg! yum.
ttfn300, give it a go. why wait?
We love beet greens! We eat them all the time-I think they are even tastier than chard.
YUM!
A must try!
I’d love to see your tangy beet salad recipe too!
indeed, tornado!
more than chard, rachel? hmmm, i think i’d call it neck and neck 🙂
heather, i think my recipe was just roasted beets with orange juice, a touch of dijon, a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. yum!
Beet greens! Who’d a thunk it. Sounds kinky. Must try!
Fyi, I’ve been “invited” (meaning no pay) to write a food blog for a free newspaper in town (go figure). I may possibly be forced to use a recipe or two I’ve gotten from you. Would that be okay? Of course I’ll always refer to your site!
jennie, congrats on the gig! get yourself some beet greens…totally unkinky 🙂
I love beet greens.
A lot.
Jae, yes, mugs will work! Give it a try 🙂
I’d always wondered if the beet greens were edible cos I love me some beets but throwing out the greens seemed so wasteful. This recipe sounds AMAZING but I admit to being a bit of a poached egg virgin. I’m afraid they will just turn into soup, but I am psyched to try out your poached egg recipe. Would it work with mugs? I am lacking in tea cups, alas.
Oh boy does this get me going…drool… I love potatoes, eggs and beet greens! Thanks for the great idea and post.
Beet greens are sold in grocery stores here in New Brunswick without the beets. They’re considered to be a separate vegetable – some people can’t wait for beet green season to start! It is funny to hear you say that most people just throw them out. Here people cut off the greens and throw out the beets!
Beetroot and chard used to be the same vegetable, actually – which is why they taste so alike. It was a weedy little thing with a small root and some leafy stuff on top, and humans bred it and bred it until it turned into all the different shades of beetroot; the different types of chard; and sugar beets. We’ve done it with a lot of things we eat – like apples