I love beets. I could not have said that truthfully until last summer, and here is the recipe that made the sparks fly for me. Props to the Parsley Thief for the initial inspiration for this one.
Bright Beets with Orzo
Author: The Urban Pioneer Woman
Serves: 4
The thing I love about this recipe is that it uses the entire plant, the beet as well as the greens and that it has a gorgeous color. Cooking the orzo in just enough water that you don't need to drain allows you to keep all the nutrients and color from the beets in the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of beets with greens (5-ish medium size beets)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- goat cheese or feta, if desired
Instructions
- Bring the beets and 3 cups of water to a boil.
- After allowing the beets to boil for about 5 minutes, add the orzo to the pot (with a little splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt) and continue to boil until water is absorbed and both the orzo and beets are soft (10-15 mins. Add a little more water if necessary as it cooks).
- While your orzo beet mixture is cooking and getting all pretty, sauté your onion in a Tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the chopped beet greens to the onions as they cook.
- Finally, add chickpeas to the onion and greens and remove from heat.
- When beets and orzo are soft, mix together with onion/greens/chickpea mixture.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste and top with your favorite kind of cheese, if you'd like. (I choose goat cheese.)
csa :: week seven :: beet heaven
Woo Hoo! I just bought beets for the first time and was looking for a recipe. I’ve been reading how good they are for you and I’ve never actually tried them before. Perfect timing. -George’s mom ;)
Hope you enjoyed your beets! I also love them just tossed in a little olive oil and salt and oven roasted. ~a
I did. I also never knew you can eat the greens. They made a great salad.