WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS If you find beet greens attached to the beets at your market, please bring them home with you—they are mild and delicious. Among blanching, steaming, microwaving, and wilting, we found the simplest, most straightforward recipe for these tender greens to be wilting on the stovetop. We simply tossed the leaves, still wet from washing, into a heated sauté pan, covered it, and cooked them, stirring occasionally, until the greens wilted via the steam from their own liquid. We then found that we got even better results when combining this technique with sautéing—we heated oil in a sauté pan, added the wet greens, covered and steamed them until wilted, and then uncovered the pan and cooked on high until all the liquid had evaporated. Sweet golden raisins and crunchy almonds gave the greens Mediterranean flavors. For the variation, onion, fresh ginger and jalapeño, and curry, along with a finishing touch of cream, moved the greens east to India.

Serves 2 or 3

TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds beet greens, stemmed and chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup golden raisins, chopped
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
• Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and drain beet greens, leaving greens slightly wet.
2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
3. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until golden, about 30 seconds.
4. Add raisins and wet greens. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are wilted but still bright green, about 3 minutes.
5. Stir in lemon zest.
6. Increase heat to high and cook, uncovered, until liquid evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Stir in almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve.

VARIATION

• SAUTEED BEET GREENS WITH INDIAN SPICES:
  Omit olive oil, pepper flakes, raisins, lemon zest, and almonds. Before cooking greens in step 1, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 1 small onion, chopped fine, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger; ½ jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced; 2 teaspoons curry powder; and ½ teaspoon ground cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. After evaporating liquid in pan in step 2, add ¼ cup heavy cream and 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar and cook until cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Serve.