Beet Greens and Feta Pasta Recipe
If you visit a farmers’ market, you’ll often find beets sold with the greens still attached. It may seem like those leafy bits are just adding weight on the scale, but they’re great quickly wilted down, as in this pasta dish.
Game plan: If you buy beet greens that are still attached to the beetroots, be sure to cut the greens off as soon as you get home or they will pull the water from the roots, causing the beets to shrivel.
When cooking the greens, you probably won’t be able to fit them into the pan all at once. Add as many as will fit, let them wilt slightly, then add a few more until they are all in the pan.
This recipe was featured as part of our Cooking with Winter Ingredients photo gallery.
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds beet greens, washed, ribs removed, and coarsely chopped (about 11 cups)
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 5 ounces crumbled feta (about 3/4 cup)
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When shimmering, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the beet greens and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and reserve. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Return the pasta to the pot and place over low heat. Add the reserved pasta water and the beet green mixture, then sprinkle in the crumbled feta. Stir until thoroughly combined and heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Beverage pairing: Mancini Vermentino di Gallura, Italy. Strong flavors of greens, salt, and sharp cheese need a white wine that can hold its own. Vermentino from the island of Sardinia matches the pasta note for note while bringing citrus and dried herb flavors to the occasion.
You can even take this a step further by making your own fresh pasta (flour, egg, go) and mixing blanched beet greens into the dough (the same can be done with spinach, or almost any other leafy green). The greens vibrantly color the pasta *and* provide flavor/nutrients.
Personally, I think the beet green ribs are great for stir-fry - don't throw them away! Even if you don't like the taste,...+READ
You can even take this a step further by making your own fresh pasta (flour, egg, go) and mixing blanched beet greens into the dough (the same can be done with spinach, or almost any other leafy green). The greens vibrantly color the pasta *and* provide flavor/nutrients.
Personally, I think the beet green ribs are great for stir-fry - don't throw them away! Even if you don't like the taste, your pets might (may only apply to mammals - my ball python didn't seem interested).-COLLAPSE
I prefer it with shallot instead of the onion, a little fried parsley and
some coach farm aged goat cheese shredded on top. Add some homemade croutons or toasted pine nuts for crunch. YUM!!
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I made this with whole wheat elbow pasta and it was just eh. I'm sure it would have been better with regular pasta, but it made the dish a bit dry. Great way to use beet greens though... I don't love them, but feel compelled not to throw them away... and here, they don't dominate the dish.
Delicious! Couldn't help but add a couple of ingredients, a handful of cherry tomatoes were cooked along with the beet greens, and I also added some dried tomatoes in oil with the cheese.
A great tip for cooking greens is using a non-stick wok. Makes plenty of room to put all the greens at once, you just need to stir for them to be evenly wilted.
We loved this, so simple and FAST, served as a side with grilled chicken. I used rainbow chard, needed to wilt it a little longer than 3min to reduce the bitterness quotient. Next time I'm going to try adding some big beans as suggested above and use as a main with some crusty bread.
Beet greens can be used pretty much however swiss chard is used. The only thing that's a pain is that they're usually grittier than a lot of the other greens you buy (which are more likely to be pre-washed, even at some farmers market stands).
I like to microwave them for a couple minutes in a glass dish covered with plastic wrap, then toss them in a pan with some oil and garlic and / or lemon.
We make this with frozen chopped spinach and add a can of drained great northern beans. Delicious, healthy and it satisfies my vegetarian-leaning wife..
I'm sure this could be made with any strong-flavored greens. It sounds good.
This nice little side was easy and tasty. It's one of those recipes that one can commit to memory, and make again & again. Its also very quick!
Loved this recipe. I tried it out because I wanted to start cooking with more winter produce. It has become a staple for me since Chow posted it. I like it with some chopped apple pieces on top, added at the end so they're chilled and crunchy on top of the warm, creamy pasta. I use either conchiglie/shells or orecchiette.