Sidebar by Hal Walter
Food – September 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
If you live near an agricultural area I highly recommend getting to know an organic farmer. The nutrition and taste simply can’t be beat. And it’s nice to know where at least some of your food comes from.
But you can also buy beets with the tops still on from most good health-food groceries and even some big grocery stores. This is actually two vegetable types wrapped into one. If you also buy some small onions, garlic and leeks you can start off with a nice dish of beet greens.
Wash the onions and chop the tips, leaving about four or five inches of green top. Slice the bulbs thin, then slice the remaining green tops on the diagonal. Also slice a small leek diagonally. Place the onions and leeks into a stainless-steel skillet over medium-low heat with some extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
While the onions cook, carefully wash the beet tops. Discard the larger tougher leaves and keep the more tender small- to medium-size leaves. The actual beet roots can be washed and set aside for another meal.
In addition, peel a few cloves of the fresh garlic, and then crush them with the flat side of the knife blade before chopping. When the onions are tender add the beet tops, and then the garlic. After mixing the greens thoroughly with the onions and leeks, sauté them until tender but not mushy.
