Foodie Friday Recipe: Mediterranean Beet Greens With Lemon

| April 29, 2016 | Clean & Healthy Eating, Real Food Recipes

One of the reasons the Mediterranean Diet is so healthy is that it includes loads of green, leafy veggies. In today’s Foodie Friday recipe, we’re sharing a delicious and super-simple way to prepare beet greens – the way the Cretans do!

Talk about healthy! Beet greens are packed full of antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy minerals. In the same family as spinach, beet greens have a sweeter, slightly richer flavor, and lovely red-colored stalks, making them a beautiful addition to your table.

In this recipe, the beet greens are lightly steamed, then tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon for a super-simple side dish full of flavor and health benefits!

If you don’t like (or can’t find) beet greens, you may also substitute turnip greens, radish greens, spinach, Swiss chard, amaranth greens, or even mustard greens. Or, for a different flavor, use red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice. Feel free to tailor the recipe to your own tastes and preferences – that is also part of the Mediterranean way of cooking!

Beet Greens With Lemon

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the green
Yield: 4 servings as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds beet greens

For serving:

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
Coarse-grain sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Rinse the greens in several changes of cold water. Remove any tough stalks from the greens and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.

2. Steam the greens. Or place them in a non-reactive saucepan, add 4 tablespoons boiling water, and cook, stirring once or twice with a fork, for 1 to 2 minutes. Take care not to overcook. Drain well in a colander, pressing the greens against the sides with a wooden spoon.

3. To serve, transfer the greens to a platter and lightly fork them to lift and separate the leaves. Add the olive oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

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