Creamy Spinach or Beet Greens with Roasted Beets ♥

Creamy Spinach or Beet Greens with Roasted Beet from A Veggie Venture.
graphic button small size size 10 Today's vegetable recipe, a quick side dish or even a light main course: Spinach leaves or beet greens cooked gently with a little cream, combined with roasted beet. Simple as can be, way more than the sum of its parts! graphic button small size size 10

~recipe & photo updated 2013 & 2015~
~more recently updated recipes~

Original 2007 Post: As so often happens in the kitchen, 'fusion' recipes can be utterly delicious.

A. Beets were on sale for $1 a pound so I bought a bunch to make borscht. Oh my, do you make borscht? I must, more often! Anyway I roasted some extra beets my favorite way, not sure where they'd end up, beyond the first beet which always gets eaten straight from the oven.

B. Ever since making these baked eggs (also called 'shirred eggs', my friend food stylist Linda Behrends reminded me recently) I've been captivated by what happens when you cook a handful of spinach in cream or half 'n' half.

A + B = C, a delicious new side dish! And fast and easy and a keeper!

Update: This time, I substituted beet greens for spinach. (I know, I know, so obvious a choice, why did I use spinach before? No idea.) This is such an easy way to combine greens and beets, it made for a favorite lunch in a long while. So easy, so good!

CREAMY SPINACH with BEETS

Hands-on time: maybe 10 minutes
Time to table: maybe 15 minutes
Serves 1, easily multiplied

1/4 cup half 'n' half
A handful of fresh baby spinach, stems removed (an important step!) and sliced thin
-- or --
A handful of fresh beet greens, leaves only, sliced thin
1/2 a cooked beet, diced

FOR SPINACH Warm half 'n' half in a small skillet, add spinach all at once and toss a bit to coat. Let cook til soft but still bright green in color. Stir in beets and let warm through. Devour immediately!

FOR BEET GREENS Beet greens are slightly tougher than baby spinach so need a little cooking before adding the cream. Start cooking them with a splash of water or good stock, just until tender, then add the cream and finish.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
graphic button small size size 10 When I roasted beets a couple of days ago, they seemed dirtier than usual and so I scrubbed and scrubbed, even getting out a vegetable brush. What a mistake! What I thought was 'dirt' was actually a thin protective layer. Once this was gone or broken, the juice of the beet seeped out, making a real mess in the oven even though wrapped in foil. The lesson: wash beets well, soak them if needed to soften excess soil, but don't scrub them hard.





Still Hungry?


MORE FAVORITE BEET RECIPES

~ My Favorite Way to Roast Beets ~
(photo tutorial with tips & tricks)

~ How to Make a Roasted Beet Salad ~
~ Beet Pesto ~
~ Swedish Beets ~
~ more beet recipes~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Borscht Beets with Sour Cream ~
~ Those Pink Potatoes ~
~ Karelian Borscht (Russian Beet Borscht Soup) ~
~ more beet recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

FROM GREAT FOOD BLOGS
Nami Nami ... a fellow beet lover
Confessions of a Cardamom Addict ... beetroot hummus
Daydream Delicious ... beetroot & lemon risotto

A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2007, 2013, 2015


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Everything seems fine! I am switching right this minute and my palms are sweating like crazy. I'm just glad I did the kids blog first so when that message popped up saying "we need a bit more time" I didn't freak out too much!

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  2. Thank you for a shout-out, Alanna:) Creamy spinach and beetroot dish sounds interesting. I'll try it once I finish eating all those leeks I've managed to buy recently..

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  3. I don't really worry too much about washing beets too hard because I roast them in tin foil. I figure since the skins are coming off anyway, it doesn't matter. (I do buy organic beets.)

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  4. I’ve learned to be cautious about dirt -- not because I’m afraid of dirt but because of cross-contamination. If you cut into a beet that’s carrying something icky on its skin, just the process of slicing will move the ick from the skin to the interior flesh. But that’s me, what you’re doing works for you, keep at it! And this idea is probably more important for fruit since it’s not subjected to heat.

    ReplyDelete

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna