Roman Beet Greens Soup
August 04, 2006
For some reason 2 bunches of red beets decided to jump into my shopping cart as I quickly passed them buy in search of porcini mushrooms, and even more curious, I bought them without any inclination of what to do with these bulbs of fuscia bitterness. I searched all of my cookbooks, and would you believe that only one cookbook had a recipe? And would you believe that the recipe had nothing to do with the beets, but rather the beet greens?!
Yes, I was shocked to learn that the green stalks of the beets are edible, and in fact are more common to eat than spinach in many places throughout Britain and Italy (the bulb is sadly discarded or used merely for its intense fuscia colored juice). So, here is a Mario Batali quick and easy soup featuring the beet greens. The taste is slightly spicy, like how arugula can be spicy or a bit peppery. It may sound odd, but the flavor is rather aromatic and goes wonderfully with bread and salad (the bonus feature is that it took all of 20 minutes to cook).
You will need:
- 1/4 c of olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 small onion, finely sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick dice
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cups of washed and sliced beet greens (about 2 bunches of beets will do the trick)
- 1 c white wine
- 1/2 c vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 1/2 c of water
- 1 bay leaf
- grated parmesan
In a large stock pot, combine olive oil, garlic cloves, onion and cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the potatoes, salt to taste, red pepper flakes, and the green beet leafs. Stir in the stock, water, wine, and bay leaf, simmering for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Serve in bowls with grated parmesan over the top and crostini or fresh french bread.
