sauteed beets with shallot and greens

by Stacy

A while back I accidentally accused my mother of trying to feed my sister and me pickled beets as children. She denies this heresy, though I still hold her accountable for the spinach souffle debacle. Also, for throwing away my favorite dress when I was three years old and lying about it for two decades.

Granted, she did make me the dress (and the matching one for my Cabbage Patch doll), and she cooked dinner for us almost every night, whether we liked it or not. Cookies, cakes, and pies were always homemade, and if we helped we got to lick the spoon. Later I was lucky enough to eat my way through Japan and Europe with my mom. We expanded our culinary horizons and brought new traditions home with us. Mom’s standard spaghetti sauce is less common in her house now than pasta alla Norma and insalata caprese. We are on an international quest for the world’s best tiramisu.

For Mother’s Day I can’t make my mom our traditional eggs Benedict or serve her breakfast in bed from 2500 miles away. She’ll have to make do with a recipe for beets. I think it will work out for a few reasons: first, it’s really good; second, you will love this cheese; and third, this happened when I was making the dish —

be still my beeting heart

Love you, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!

I didn’t send you a card, so I am posting this in your honor!

sliced shallot chopped chard
red beets chiogga beets

Thinly slice a shallot. Remove the stems from a bunch of chard (6-8 leaves) and the beet tops if you have them (I didn’t); chop the greens. Peel 4-6 beets. Freak out when you think the white one was actually a radish. Taste a slice and determine that it is, in fact, a beet. Slice beets into disks 1/4″ inch thick.

Heat some butter in a pan and add some thyme. Saute the shallot, then add the beets. Let them caramelize for about 15 minutes.

sauteed beets

Add greens and saute another 5 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of wine and cover the pan.

beets with chard

The dish is done when the beets are tender and the greens are wilted and silky. If the greens start to look dry, add a little water and let the greens absorb it.

During that whole sequence, you should have been warming up some crusty bread and letting your Boucherondin cheese come to room temperature. Boucherondin tastes like the delicious love child of chevre and brie. It’s pretty amazing.

boucherondin cheese

It took me two trips to Whole Foods to find some, but it should be with the goat cheeses. It’s tangy and creamy and goes really well with the beets. Garnish the plate with a wedge of it, grab a few slices of bread, and dig in. But save some for mom.

sauteed beets with shallot and chard

Sauteed Beets with Shallot and Greens

Adapted from food52
Serves 2

The original recipe calls for Muscadet wine. I used the pinot grigio that was open in my fridge and it was great. Use something you would want to drink.

Ingredients:
4-6 medium beets, with greens if possible
1 bunch Swiss chard (6-8 leaves)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
1 shallot
2 tablespoon white wine

Directions:
1.) Scrub beets well. Remove greens. Peel and slice beets into rounds 1/4-inch thick.

2.) Remove the ribs from the chard. Chop chard and beet greens.

3.) Peel and slice shallot. Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, add thyme and stir until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add shallot. Stir until softened. Add beets and reduce heat. Saute about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

4.) When beets are starting to become tender, add beet greens and chard. Saute about 5 minutes; add wine and cover. Let greens wilt, adding a tablespoon or two of water if they start looking dry.

5.) Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Season with coarse salt and black pepper. Serve in shallow dishes with a wedge of room-temperature Boucherondin cheese and a piece of crusty bread.

Enjoy, if possible, with a glass of wine, and Mom.

sauteed beets with shallot and chard


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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

Kathie May 9, 2010 at 11:36 am

Oh yum! You know I’ll be making that when the beets we planted yesterday are ready for harvest.

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Stacy May 9, 2010 at 11:07 pm

That’s why I laughed when I saw your tweet! The carrot and beet salad I posted a while back is really nice, too.

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mom May 9, 2010 at 3:52 pm

Thanks for the great Mother’s Day treat! It looks delicious. Will you make me some when I come out to visit? I just checked our back yard and there is asparagus coming up and some that was ready last Wednesday!! Alas, I was not there until today. More will come, now that I know where it is!!

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Stacy May 9, 2010 at 11:08 pm

I will if we still have beets! Will you still have asparagus at the end of May when we’re back next?

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Kate May 10, 2010 at 12:21 pm

Beets aren’t my thing, but gotta say I love the new look!

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Stacy May 10, 2010 at 4:34 pm

I wasn’t sold on beets at first, but I devoured this recipe!

Thank you! I decided it was time for a change. =)

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Amie May 10, 2010 at 12:41 pm

I recently just got into beets, and this recipe looks delicious. One day I just ordered a salad with beets on it and was in love – I think I had been turned off all those years from the canned beets every Thanksgiving.

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Stacy May 10, 2010 at 4:38 pm

It’s taken me a while to appreciate them, but now I’m almost glad my husband doesn’t eat them. More for me! ;p
It’s hard for me to turn down any recipe that starts with shallots or onions sauteed in butter, too.

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Anna July 25, 2010 at 10:01 pm

I googled sauteed beets recipe, and came across this one. We tried it tonight, and it was so delicious!!!! Thank you for sharing this great beet recipe!

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Emily September 17, 2010 at 9:18 pm

I make this recipe at least every two weeks now. I have made it with kale instead of chard, which is also very good. I never have white cooking wine around, so I just use red and add a pinch of sugar. SO GOOD.

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Adam April 23, 2011 at 1:03 pm

I just saw some beautiful beets and shallots at the farmer’s market this morning and bought them, having no idea what to do. A quick Google search later, and I find this! This sounds so delicious and I’m going to make it for a get-together tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!

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Adam April 24, 2011 at 9:44 pm

So it was a big success, at least in my opinion. I personally loved it! Such a rich flavor, and very easy to make. The one person who hated beets wouldn’t try it, but one person loved beets and said it was great. Another wasn’t a big fan but ate a whole serving and said “These are the best beets I’ve had.” The other person had never had beets, but is now won over and wants to have them more because of this recipe. Thanks so much!

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Stacy April 28, 2011 at 11:15 pm

Thanks so much for your feedback, Adam, and I’m glad the recipe was a success for you!

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Melanie August 8, 2011 at 7:50 pm

Just tried your sauteed beets tonight–delish! We had beets from our neighbor’s garden, rosemary and thyme from ours, and a wedge of Laughing Cow creamy Swiss because it was in the fridge. This recipe is perfect for wee, homegrown garden-in-the-city beets. Thanks for posting.

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Melody December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm

I did a quick google search to see if sauteeing beets would work, and because your blog has such a cute title, it won my click. I adapted your recipe a bit – sauteed the beets in butter and added thyme and later, chard. Then I stirred in some barley and stuffed halved acorn squash with it all. Wowza, it was delicious.

Next time I’ll try your suggestion with the cheese!

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