These beetroot tops sautéed with garlic & fennel are so delicious if you can get your hands on farm-fresh beetroot with crisp leaves.

I had never cooked the tops of beetroot before and when I received a bunch of freshly harvested beetroot from Terra Madre in Elgin just before the lockdown, I simply could not ignore them. I adore beetroot and have cooked a plethora of recipes with them over the years and figured the tops would be an extension of beetroot flavour-wise. They are related to Swiss chard and spinach (the Chenopodiaceae family) so they are all good. I just freestyled it in my kitchen adding what I thought would work and the result was a bowl of utter deliciousness. I stirred this through steamed brown basmati rice and a few mushrooms sautéed in butter adding parmesan cheese at the end to finish it off.

I wouldn’t attempt to make this dish unless the beetroot tops were extremely fresh. It’s also not going to win any beauty competitions but it is what it is. I am so happy to share it as I really hate food waste.

To order produce from Terra Madre during the lockdown, visit their website to see what is available from week to week.

Recipe – serves 2 as a side

Delicious beetroot tops sautéed with garlic & fennel

Print Recipe

A super easy and delicuous way to prepare fresh beetroot (beet) tops to eat as a side dish or on their own. These can be added to an omlette or frittata too.

Author: Sam
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 8-10 mins
Total Time: 15
Yield: 2
Category: vegetarian, side
Method: saute

Ingredients

1 bunch of very fresh beetroot tops, washed and the thick stalks cut away from the leaves
Chop the stems quite finely and then cup up the leaves into thin ribbons
Olive oil for frying
1 shallot finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic crushed
½ – 1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp ground cumin
Soy sauce to season
Juice of ¼ – ½ lemon
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese to serve

Instructions

Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large non-stick pan and sauté the shallots until soft. About 4 minutes. Add the chopped beetroot leaf stems, fennel seeds and cumin and fry for a further 2 – 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook this for about a minute.
Add the shredded beetroot leaves and stir through to wilt. Add about a ¼ cup of water and cover the pan with a lid or a baking tray in order to stem the leaves. Season with soy sauce and lemon juice keep tossing in the pan. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper and when most of the liquid has cooked off, serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Keywords: Beetroot tops, sauteed

More delicious beetroot recipes:

The best roast beetroot hummus

Roast beetroot & onion galette with shaved goats cheese Pecorino

Beetroot falafel on toasted pita

Roast beetroot with pistachios & dukkah

Beetroot & carrot cake with caramel cream cheese frosting

Roasted beetroot & onion tart tartin with balsamic, caramel & thyme

Apple, beetroot & ginger juice