Beet Soup

[Irene3R]

I'm making the savory beet soup recipe from a past issue of cooking light. I never cooked with fresh beets before. I peeled the beets and cut them for the soup. But the long purple stems and green leaves look so nice I hate to throw them out. Should I put them in the soup also? Are they good for anything?
Thank you in advance for replies to this dilemma.
Irene

[Clover]

Yes, you can eat beet greens, using them like any other greens. I don't have a tried and true recipe for you, but the one below is from the November 2004 CL. Also, if you search for beet greens in the recipe finder, there are other recipes there.

Pasta with Beet Greens and Raisins

Use the green, leafy tops from beets to make this quick pasta dish.


8 ounces uncooked pennette (mini penne)
1/4 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups coarsely chopped trimmed beet greens
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

While pasta cooks, place raisins in a small bowl; cover with hot water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain.

While pasta cooks and raisins soak, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add greens and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until greens are tender. Stir in pasta, raisins, almonds, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; toss to combine. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 345 (26% from fat); FAT 10g (satfat 1.3g, monofat 6.3g, polyfat 1.4g); PROTEIN 10.9g; CARBOHYDRATE 55.2g; FIBER 5.2g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; IRON 4mg; SODIUM 409mg; CALCIUM 110mg;

[Irene3R]

Thank you for your reply. I will do a search on them also and probably will come up with some interesting things. The leaves look really nice and so do the stems. Bye the way, the soup was delicious.
Thanks again,
Irene