Getting the Most Out of Your Root Vegetables

Did you know you can eat the greens to several root vegetables? Beets, radishes, rutabagas, turnips, and carrots all have edible greens. To get the most out of your root vegetables, don’t toss the greens when you harvest the roots! Instead, incorporate some of the ideas below to add variety to your meal planning and to ensure you get the most out of your root vegetables.

Beet, Radish, Rutabaga, and Turnip Greens – These greens can be used in the following ways:

Boiled – We have eaten boiled beet greens at our house numerous times. Boil greens in water for 2 minutes. Strain water, splash with vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Steamed – Steam greens in a steamer for 3 minutes. Season as above.

Sautéed – We like to sauté any of these greens using the following recipe: Fry 4 to 6 strips of bacon, pat dry, crumble, and set aside. Sauté 2 cloves of minced garlic in 2 T. butter or 1 T. of butter and 1 T. of bacon grease. Add in one bunch of greens (approximately 4 to 5 cups), sliced into strips, and sauté until lightly cooked. Add in bacon, stir, and toss with 2 - 3 T. of lemon juice. Serve warm.

We have also sautéed greens in butter and used them in omelets or folded them into scrambled eggs.

Pesto – We were given a bunch of radish greens from a friend who couldn’t use them all. At her suggestion, we ended up making pesto with them. The pesto had a nice flavor, quite distinct from a basil pesto, but wonderfully flavorful. Pestos are great for including in recipes for pasta and meats as well as putting on sandwiches as a spread.

Click here for a link to one of our favorite main dishes from easyfamilyrecipes.com that uses pesto. 

Soups – These greens can all be cut and added to soups to enhance both the flavor and the nutritional profile.

Broth – You can add greens to flavor your bone broth or use them to make a vegetable broth. Just toss in your greens with the other vegetables when cooking the broth!

Salads – Most greens are less bitter when eaten young. Thus, young greens are most often chosen for salads. They can still be diced and added to salad when more mature, however. Whatever the age of the green, dice or slice them and toss them in your salads for a more robust flavor profile.

Carrot Tops – While carrot tops are not often eaten as a side dish by themselves, they can be used to make pesto; can be added to salads, broths, and soups; and can be used as a substitute for parsley.  Abra’s Kitchen has a tabouli salad recipe featuring carrot tops that looks quite good.