I love food, hate waste, as you might have learned from reading last week’s post on how to cook your scraps. I’m doing a bit of a series of posts at the moment, showcasing innovative ways to cut unnecessary food wastage as part of Buy Nothing New Month (I’m an ambassador; I’m also an ambassador for the Love Food Hate Waste campaign).
Photo by Marija Ivkovic
Now. I’m not suggesting eating out of bins. But I am suggesting thinking before you chuck stuff in bins. If you care about food in any way, then every bit of care should be taken to not waste any of it…and to get creative with the “whole” food. Recycling and composting isn’t enough; cutting waste in the first place is where we should be heading. To get things started, I’m going to get leafy with it…
Beet leaves:
These things possess most of the properties of most greens – whether it be spinach, silverbeet or kale. And, no doubt many of the properties of beetroots themselves. Dr. Bowden, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, lists beetroots as one of the top foods you should be eating. Think of beets as red spinach, he says, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
What do they taste like? Much like spinach, but more like kale in texture.
How to cook them? As you would spinach etc. I don’t advise eating raw. I add them to soups, casseroles and they’re great with eggs (see the frittata recipe below). Or you can try this one:
Sausage and Beetroot Hash
- 1 good quality sausage (I like a pork sausage with fennel seeds)
- 1 small beetroot, partially precooked, cut into 2cm cubes, or wedges*
- red onion or a few green shallots
- 1/2 cup beet leaves, chopped finely
- splash of apple cider vinegar
- handful walnuts, preferably activated
- yoghurt and oil to serve
- preserved lemon, finely chopped (optional)
Cook the sausage in a frying pan until almost done. Remove and chop into 2cm chunks, then set aside. Add the beetroot, beet leaves and onion to the pan and sauté. Splash in a little vinegar and stir, scraping any cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the leaves are soft. Return the sausage to the pan and add the walnuts. Serve with yoghurt and a little oil drizzled over, or combine some preserved lemon, oil and yoghurt and spoon on top.
Serves 1-2
* I pre-cook my beetroots in bulk and freeze them ready for use. Simply place in a 200 degree C oven (no need to peel or add oil or salt) for about 15-20 minutes, until almost tender. Cool, and freeze or store in the fridge for a few days.
Here’s another idea:
Beet Greens Frittata
- beet greens from one bunch of beetroot (about 500g), stemmed and washed thoroughly
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 eggs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons milk
For the full recipe instructions visit the original link at The New York Times
Broccoli stalks
Here’s a great recipe for broccoli slaw
Silverbeet stalks
I treat these white chard/silverbeet “ribs” like celery, celeriac or fennel and use them to bulk out stir fries, casseroles, soups, and stews. I always save them in the freezer and toss into my Cheesy Mish Mash soup. The other day I finely sliced a bunch and added to 3 x beaten eggs, some bacon (chopped and fried), some leftover shallots, a grated zucchini, some ricotta and feta, baking the lot ofr 30-40 mins at 190C to make this gratin below. It served two for dinner.
Another idea for a quick lunch: simmer the stalks in white wine and water until tender, drain and eat with olive oil and coarse salt.
Carrot leaves
Or what about this one: carrot top pesto!
Food bloggers out there, feel free to share your clever waste-not recipe. I’ll share it on Facebook and instagram!
Beet greens are one of my favorites. I usually steal them away before I get a chance to cook the beets themselves!
Loving this series!
Mickey
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Broccoli stalks are my favourite!!! Love them steamed for a few minutes then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper, or for dipping in hummus. Mmmm….
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October 23rd, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Right on!
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coriander and parsley stems are great for making a quick fresh stir fry base- wash really well as they can be gritty! stab mix with garlic, ginger, fresh chilli, lime juice, small stick of lemon grass and dash of sesame oil. the flavour is often more intense than the herb leaf. I stir fry veggies and almonds with this (I’m vego), but if you’re a meat eater this also works really well as a marinade for chicken, particularly left overnight in the fridge.
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Eat them raw in a salad!
Or young stalks, leaves of beets & florets of broccoli lightly pan roasted in coconut oil with some seasame seeds & pine nuts Yummo!
Broccoli is high in “Sulforaphane is an organosulfur compound that exhibits anti-cancer, and antimicrobial properties in experimental models. It is obtained from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cabbages. The enzyme myrosinase transforms glucoraphanin, a glucosinolate, into sulforaphane upon damage to the plant (such as from chewing). Young sprouts of broccoli and cauliflower are particularly rich in glucoraphanin.” Thxs to Wiki for that bit.
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October 23rd, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Good one…though I will add that for anyone with thyroid problems, it is better to cook cruciferous veggies
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They are awesome prepared just like baked kale chips and taste a bit seaweed-y (in the best way!)
Loving this series and all that you do Sarah
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October 23rd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Ahhhh, yes beetroot leave crisps. nice one!
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My favorite waste-not recipe: http://detoxinista.com/2011/04/beet-this-burger/ I use my extra veggie pulp, leftover from making fresh vegetable juice, to make quick and easy burgers!
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Such a brilliant idea to minimise waste. I also think the buy nothing new month is fantastic want to try that out.
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I use my beet leaves for beet leaf chips (same as kale chips) they are delicious!
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Hey Sarah, I’m all for using veggie bits that people normally throw in the bin, including cauliflower leaves! And here’s a recent beet leaves recipe I posted on my site, including some ways to use them.
http://www.themindfulfoodie.com/2012/10/19/things-to-do-with-beet-greens-a-recipe/
Lesh x
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I have experimented with putting beetroot back in to my diet. I can grate it raw over salads, and I do that all the time. At the moment there’s fresh organic beetroot in my food co-op box each week, but I’ve tried baking it and had a pretty bad reaction to it the following day. Super tired, stomach cramps, and something turning a certain ‘weird’ colour!
I haven’t played with the leaves yet. I’ll see how brave I get.
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Did a recipe and shot a pic with beetroot leaves my self just yesterday after pulling all the beets out of the garden for pickling. Recipe will be going in a Byron Farmers Market 10 Year celebration cookbook – wuld love to share if you would like see, Sarah
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Steamed beetroot leaves with dinner last night, just the best, even better as they were home grown thanks to my wonderful husband Steve.
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I have spent the last week eating beetroot leaves and stalks in my lunch! Funnily on the top of the stove in a dish are the actual beets – I haven’t roasted the bgrs yet! Go the leaves! I am the master of the made-up dinner. Rubbish at ‘real’ recipes! Lisa
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October 27th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Bravo! Tell me, how’s the colour of your, um, ablutions?!!
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[...] last week Sarah Wilson wrote a post about eating beetroot leaves and even linked to a recipe for a beet greens frittata then lo and behold my fruit and veg box had a lovely bunch of beets. I have to say that the [...]
my greek mother-in-law steams the beetroot leaves, then douses liberally with olive oil and loads of finely chopped garlic, and serves just warm. sooooooo yum!
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[...] Wilson’s post i love food, hate waste made me think more about how to not waste stuff. Or how I avoid wasting food, [...]
A belated comment – I love beet leaves more than the beetroot themselves. At our local farmers market I always collect the “leftover” beet leaves from one of the organic farmers there. I cook them up in a sambal style sauce (onion/spring onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, chili and/or capsicum whizzed in the blender, then cooked in a little olive or coconut oil). Add the well washed leaves and simmer, salt and pepper to taste – divine. amazingly delicious with grilled eggplant, mushroom or boiled eggs too. A fave in our house. Have started growing my own beetroots, mostly to have my own supply of leaves.
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I didn’t want to waste the pulp from the juicer. I had apple, ginger, lemon, mint pulp left over. By adding it to Greek yoghurt it made a treat that reminded me of a lemon cheese cake.
I’ve also used the pulp from vege and fruit juices with eggs and cheese to create something edible in the fry pan. I can’t stand waste!!
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Hi Sarah, curious to know why you don’t advise eating them raw?
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i have seen some people leaving bad comments bad i like this post i think its useful.
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[...] off to eat another sugar-free dinner by I Quit Sugar‘s Sarah [...]
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