Vegetarian Salad Recipes: Salad From Beet Leaves And Stems
Often times, when we shop on a farm market or even in the supermarket, we see bunches of carrot, beet, radish, and other root-crops with leaves. When buying such bunches, we cut the leaves off. That's because we don't know how useful these leaves and stems are.
Leaves and stems of root-crops have a real healing power that can overcome many health problems. Sometimes they have even more nutrients than the actual vegetable.
Beet leaves and stems are used in salads, soups, cutlets, pie fillings, and other tasty and healthy meals. They are also dried, pickled and canned.
Today I'd like to share a recipe for a salad from leaves and stems of beet. This is another recipe of a dish which is very popular in Armenia. It's simple, easy and very healthy!
Health Benefits of Beet Leaves and Stems
Beet leaves and stems are said to be even more useful than actual beet. They contain proteins, pigments, oxalic and malic acids, mineral salts of magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, iodine. They also contain vitamins C, B1, B2, P, PP, and different macro-and microelements. So next time when you will be buying beet, don't throw leaves and stems away, try to make this salad instead.
This dish is best to cook from young leaves and stems, but you can use mature leaves and stems as well, just stew them a little bit longer.
You can use just stems, just leaves, or both. Depending on your choice, the taste, structure and appearance would slightly differ. So, let's begin...
Cook Time
Ingredients
- Beet stems and leaves
- Onion
- Walnuts
- Greens
- Vegetable oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic
Instructions:
- Divide everything on two parts - leaves and stems, and wash them thoroughly.
- Cut stems onto pieces 2 inch each (5-6cm), and leaves onto slices of 0.5 inch (1-2cm) (don't make pieces too small).
- Put stems into a deep frying pan and add A LITTLE BIT of water. Remember, we don't boil, but stew, that's why we need very little water.
- Cover frying pan with a lid and stew everything for 2-3 min.
- Add cut leaves (they are cooked much faster than stems, that's why we'are adding them later).
- Stew for 2-3 min.
- Stir everything from the bottom to the top so that everything cooks evenly.
- As soon as leaves are a little bit stewed, add salt and pepper.
- Cover with the lid and stew until ready. Stir a couple of times. It will take a couple of minutes to be ready. Don't overcook or overdry! Stems should be easy to bite, but remain a little bit crisp.
- Cool everything, add sliced onion, minced garlic, greens, walnuts, vegetable oil, lemon juice.
Variations
1. You can use vegan sour cream instead of oil.
2. You can make a dip from stewed beet leaves and stems - just grind everything in grinder or blender.
3. You can serve just stewed beet leaves and stems. To do that, add butter while stewing and serve with vegan sour cream and minced garlic.
Improvise! As I said before, you can cook this dish using only stems, only leaves or both. Try different variations and choose what you like the most!
