Dijon Beets with Greens

Dijon Beets with Greens

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This is my go-to greens recipe that I made up years ago on the fly. Once a group of friends and I drove up to Cache Valley to help our friend, Peggy Nelson, with her newly planted lavender field (we debudded the hundreds of new plants). She served us a gourmet meal afterward full of lavender infused foods she made.

When Peggy asked someone to fix the beets and beet greens from her garden, I pitched in by making this recipe 

hoping they would love it as much as my family does. They did.

Beets, medium size, scrubbed (roots and 1-inch of stem left on)

Beet greens from said beets, washed (choose younger greens. Discard large, tough leaves.)

1-2 TBL butter

1-2 TBL Dijon mustard

Vinegar or lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven 375º.  Wrap beets in foil, crimping edges closed like a package, and set to bake one hour or more, until tender. Alternatively, simmer whole beets in a covered saucepan with an inch or two of water until tender.
2. Wash the beet greens. Remove thick, tough stems, but if stems are young and tender you can include them. Then stack leaves on top of each other, roll up like a cigar and slice into one inch wide pieces.
3. Steam beet greens in covered pan until tender.  If greens were wet from washing they shouldn’t need extra water to steam. Remove lid, drain off any liquid, if any.
4. Move greens to one side of the pan. On the empty side of the pan, add a big pat of butter (1-2 TBL depending on how many greens you have) and a tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard. Allow to butter to melt, then stir mustard into it to make a paste. Mix paste into the beet greens with tongs. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Taste to see if a splash of vinegar or lemon juice is needed to balance flavor. If so, splash a little on the greens and stir.
5. To serve:  peel roasted beets.  If large, cut into quarters.  Add beets to greens. Yum.