As one commenter pointed out, today is 2/22 (thanks, Mami), which cries to be a special day on this tiny sliver of the web. Maybe when the 222 million tons Facebook “likes” swell to numbers well beyond the current 11, I’ll have the clout to lobby for February 22 to become International Save Something from Landfill Day. Until then, I’ll just have to try making a small dent in the problem by sharing observations like this one: beet leaves and stems are tasty.

They’re often overlooked for the same reason that watermelon rind is; they live next to a real attention grabber – in this case beets. But beet leaves are tender and flavorful, and their stems are red, crisp, and have just a hint of beet flavor. Unlike beets, they don’t overwhelm, but they do add color and character to salads and other dishes.

Our most recent experiment with beets greens was a linguine with beet greens, which was good enough to share here.

Linguine with beet greens (serves 1)

Ingredients

• 2 oz linguine
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh garlic
• ¼ onion
• 5 button or crimini mushrooms
• 5 sun dried tomatoes (the ones packed in oil)
• 1 tsp oil from sun dried tomatoes
• 10 oz beet leaves with stems
• 1 pinch salt, or to taste
• ¼ tsp pepper, or to taste
• ¼ tsp dried chili flakes, or to taste
• ½ oz crumbled goat cheese

Directions

• Fill a pot with water, and bring it to a boil.
• You’ll be lightly sautéing the vegetables for this dish, and don’t want things to over cook while you’re busy practicing your knife skills or hunting for spices, so it’s best to do all the slicing and dicing up front. So, as the water comes to a boil:
  • Crush the garlic.
  • Slice the onion.
  • Clean and quarter the mushrooms.
  • Slice the sun dried tomatoes into strips.
  • Wash the beet leaves, remove their stems, and chop them into one- or two-inch lengths.
  • Slice the beet leaves crosswise into ¼ inch strips.
  • Crumble the goat cheese.
  • Get your spices ready.
• By now the water should be boiling, so prepare the linguine according to the package directions. While that is cooking, you can cook the vegetables.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions and garlic for two or three minutes, until the onions are translucent.
• Add in the mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and sun dried tomato oil, and sauté for two minutes.
• Add in the beet leaves, and sauté until they start to wilt.
• Throw in the stems, and sauté until they have imparted their color to the mushrooms and onions. Be careful not to over cook them, though, or they will become brownish and lose their crunch.
• Remove from heat, and add salt and pepper to taste.
• By now your linguine should be ready. Plate it, and top it with the sautéed vegetables.
• Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes and goat cheese (I did that after I took the pictures).