Friday, July 18, 2008

Lunch

Fried eggs with sauteed beet greens.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Shopping: none

I can hardly think of a vegetable easier or more delectable then freshly harvested beet greens. I'd been eyeing one particular Franken-beet in our garden. It was unexpectedly huge, some kind of mutant, with greens towering over the rest of its mates. I was weeding in the area this morning and decided it was time to see what this fellow was all about. I pulled it up, and it looked like a giant, red parsnip. No accounting for a beet like that. But nothing goes to waste around the garden. If it's edible, it will be eaten.

I brought the greens inside, let them soak in the kitchen sink to refresh, then sauteed the leaves very simply in the cast iron skillet with extra-virgin olive oil, coarse salt and just the water left on the leaves after lifting them out of the sink. You could season the greens with a little white wine vinegar, or even cider vinegar.

Meanwhile, I melted a spoonful of butter from South Mountain Creamery in the non-stick skillet and fried a couple of eggs from our farmer friend Brett. (These would be the ones that require the five-mile drive to the Chevy Chase farmers market). Dust the eggs and greens with some grated Pecorino cheese. I dabbed some red Sriracha pepper sauce on there as well.

I'll be tasting this for the rest of the afternoon...

9 comments:

Erica said...

I need to get over myself and try the beet greens. We have been eating beets from the garden for a while now, but have been pitching the greens in the compost bin.

Anonymous said...

I think this demonstrates the point from Thursday about not being "super healthy".

While your focus is on good, natural food, the super health conscious would maybe steam the greens to avoid the extra oil. And fry the egg with a spray pump shot of oil in a non-stick pan instead of the lump of tasty butter. Well, the strict health-food folks would skip the fried egg.

The super healthy way certainly doesn't taste as good, though!

Ed Bruske said...

Oh, Erica, I think you'll be surprised how good the beet greens taste. And they are full of good nutrition.

Ray, I guess that's exactly where I have to part company with you. You should be getting at least 30 percent of your calories from fats and extra-virgin olive oil is one of the best. Butter from grass-fed cows is highly nutritious and eggs--in this case pastured eggs--are one of the best foods you can eat, especially after it's been shown that dietary cholesterol does not equal blood cholesterol.

I guess I'm being brainwashed my Nina Planck. Listen to what she writes about grass-fed butter:

"Butter and cream from grass-fed cows are a rare source of the unique and benficial fat CLS. According to the Journal of Diary Science, the CLA in grass-fed butterfat is 500 percent greater than in the butterfat of cows eating a typical dairy ration, which usually contains grain, corn silage, and soybeans.

"A polyunsaturted Omega-6 fat, CLA prevents heart disease (probably by reducing atherosclerosis), fights cancer, and builds lean muscle. CLA aids weight loss in several ways: by decreasing the amount of fat stored after eating, increasing the rate at which fat cells are broken down, and reducing the number of fat cells."

I could go on...

Erica said...

I always fry my eggs in coconut oil or butter......coconut oil is my favorite though.

I have to pull up the rest of my beets this week, I will try the greens and let you know.

Just soak them for a while and saute, right?

Ed Bruske said...

Erica, I don't even cut the beet greens, just remove the stem. Usually I cover them for part of the saute so that the moisture doesn't all boil away. So it's a kind of saute-braise. A little salt and pepper, maybe a dash of your favorite vinegar.

R. Mansfield said...

I've just created a link to your recipe in our newest "Cast Iron Around the Web" post at http://www.cookingincastiron.com

Ed Bruske said...

Rick, thanks for the link. I'm glad there's a website out there signing the praises of cast iron. I've linked to you permanently under "Good Things in Food."

Anonymous said...

Ed, no need to part company with me! I'm not in the no-fat diet camp; I was just pointing out what would lead nursingschoolsearch.com to make the comment they did.

Ed Bruske said...

Ray, we're on the lard express around here...