Orange and Balsamic Glazed Beets

with Beet Greens, ChickPeas, and Dill

Orange and Balsamic Glazed Beets

with ChickPeas, Beet Greens, and Dill

Those gorgeous, red-tinged greens that crown a bunch of fresh beets should never be tossed away. These often disregarded leaves are the ultimate superfood. They’re super high in iron, with a higher iron count than spinach, and are also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium. They’re also an excellent source of fiber.

If you’re interested to know all about what beet greens in your diet can do for you, let Carrie of “My Big Fat GrainFree Life” tell you all about it. You’ll want to eat them every day after you hear what she has to say.

 

But, no matter how good something is for me, if it doesn’t taste good, I don’t want to eat it. If you feel the same way, you have nothing to worry about with beet greens. They have a delicate, velvety sweetness and are good raw in salads as well as sautéed with a bit of garlic. And they’re the perfect accompaniment to beetroot, any way you prepare them.

Note: I try to eat organic whenever possible, but I always choose organic beets when I’m going to eat the greens.

Ingredients:

For the beets

  • 1 pound small to medium organic beets

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 sprigs of rosemary or thyme

  • 4 shallots, peeled and quartered or a handful of pearl onions

  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

  • The juice of two large oranges

  •  (reserve the zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice for the greens)

  • Kosher salt and pepper

For the greens

  • The greens from the bunch of beets, tough stems removed, small leaves left whole, larger leaves torn into big pieces.

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • A small glug of extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 can chickpeas (approximately 13 oz.), drained and rinsed

  • 1 tablespoon orange juice

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Sprigs of dill in small fronds

 

Method:

Roast the beets

  • Trim the tops, and any long roots at the bottom, of each beet, and wrap each one in aluminum foil. You want the beets to have a bit of breathing room in their packets, but the foil should be tightly sealed to retain the steam.

  • Place the beets in their packets onto an oven rack and set the oven to 375º. There’s no need to preheat the oven. After an hour, test the beets for doneness by sticking a fork into the largest one of them, right through the foil. The fork should slip in easily. If the beet is still a little hard, continue roasting them until they’re all tender. It could take up to 2 hours, depending upon the size and age of the beets.

  • When the beets are roasted, remove them from the oven. As soon as you can handle them without scalding your hand, remove one from its packet. Hold it in your hand with a paper towel and rub the beet all over. The skin should just slip right off. Repeat with the other beets.

  • You can do this a day ahead of making this dish, if you like.

 

Glaze the beets and shallots

  • Cut the cooled beets into wedges.

  • Sauté the shallots in the butter and oil, in a skillet that has a lid, until they are softened.

  • Then add the quartered beets and the garlic to the pan. Continue to sauté until the shallots and garlic start to develop a golden color.

  • Add the orange juice and the rosemary sprigs. Bring it to a simmer and then cover the pot and lower the heat. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid.

  • Add the honey and the balsamic vinegar and stir gently to combine. Continue to cook, tossing occasionally to make sure all the beets are coated, until most of the liquid is evaporated and a shiny glaze has developed. Watch the pot carefully, as the beets will go from perfectly glazed to burned very quickly.

  • Remove the pot from the heat and discard the rosemary sprigs.

 

Sauté the greens

  • Heat a small glug of olive oil in a skillet.

  • Add the beet greens, the chickpeas, the orange zest, and the garlic with a sprinkle of salt and a twist of the pepper mill.

  • Sauté for a couple of minutes until the greens are nicely wilted.

  • Stir in the orange juice.

 

To serve

  • Spoon the glazed beets into the middle of a serving plate. Ring them with the greens. Scatter the dill fronds over all, and serve.

    Variation: Instead of shallots, you can use pearl onions. Drop them into boiling water for 3 minutes. Then, trim off the root ends and you can pop them right out of their skins. Continue as above to sauté them.