WiN-WiN: Roasted Beets and Beet Green Pesto
Beautiful beets are in season! And they are another vegetable for our WiN-WiN recipe series (Waste Not, Want Not). In this series, we try to make use of every part of a vegetable rather than letting any part of it go to waste! Doing this not only respects all of the time and energy that went into producing that beautiful food, but offers you a ton of extra use, new flavors and textures, and a door to more creativity and experimentation!
I love beets, but sometimes they can get a bad rep. My siblings used to tell my mom they tasted like “dirt”, and they are definitely a flavor I “grew into” as I got older. As I’ve continued to explore new vegetables and find joy in eating healthier foods, beets have been one of my favorite things! The dark red ones add dramatic color. The golden ones are often a bit sweeter and some special varieties have striped insides which are a stunning surprise. My favorite way to cook them is a simple roasting method that includes nothing but the beets themselves. The beets are left plain, and after they cool down, can be sliced for sandwiches or added to salads. I’ve been really into this simple method all summer. While it’s been really hot outside, the last thing I want to do is to turn my stove on and eat something piping hot. I make these at night when it’s cooler, and then have them in the fridge to add to meals all week—yum! You can find the simple instructions below.
When buying beets, they usually come with the tops attached. The first step in preparing beets is usually to remove the tops, which I used to throw in the compost! Oh how much I was missing. Now that I know how much you can do with them I lament the piles of delicious greens I’ve wasted in the past! Making use of beet leaves is pretty straightforward if you’re already used to cooking with leafy vegetables. Beet tops and stems can be sauteed in dishes as you would with spinach, the leaves can be made into crispy chips like kale, and you can even throw them into smoothies! My personal favorite is to make beet leaves into a pesto. It’s a little spicier than if you were to use other types of leaves, but is still vibrant and delicious!
This summer I’ve been obsessed with making a sandwich that uses both the beets and their tops! I toast some delicious bread, slather on some light cheese (like mozzarella, gouda, or cream cheese), spread some pesto and lay on some thinly sliced roasted beets. This is a vegetarian meal but you could opt to use vegan cheese or no cheese at all to make it vegan. No matter what, the color and taste are so vibrant.
While beet roots will last for a month or so if stored in the fridge, beet tops will only last for a few days, so be sure to cut them off and use them as soon as possible.
Roasted Beet Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the beet tops, leaving the base of the stem attached to the root. Scrub the dirt off each beet and, while still slightly damp, wrap each beet in tin foil. Placethe wrapped beets on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 50 minutes. The beets are done when you can gently stick a fork through the middle.
Remove them from the oven and carefully open the foil with tongs to let cool. The foil can be washed and reused or recycled (in some areas). Once the beets are cool you should be able to gently pull the skin of the root off with your fingers, revealing the bright beet below. If the skin is not coming off easily they may need to be cooked for longer.
Once the beets are fully peeled, cut into thin slices for sandwiches, or into cubes for salads.
*Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Beet Green Pesto
Ingredients:
6 cups beet top greens: just the green leaves from approximately 2 bunches of beets. You can supplement the beet greens with spinach or kale if you need more greens
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, tree nuts, Walnuts, or any other nut
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves: I tend to add nearly twice the garlic I listed when I’m making it for myself, but that can be a bit too much for some people.
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup of olive oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see garlic in nylon netting, but you can usually find it in other places—like your local farmers market—without packaging.
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients, and choose local, in-season produce when you can.
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Things like garlic and oil, will last for months if stored properly, so with those if you buy a bit more than you needed, you’ll have plenty of time to use them in the future. But the beets will go bad if you don’t use them within a few weeks, so purchase with care.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time, and beets themselves are versatile and can store well in your fridge.
As previously mentioned, this recipe aims to reduce waste and highlight new flavors! Make sure you try to reduce waste whenever you can. For example, the skins and butts of the garlic and onions can be reused for stock and/or compost.
Did you like this recipe? Let us know! If you really loved it, share it on social media and tag us (@groundedgrub), or, better yet, share it with your friends and family!
