Beet greens

Beta vulgaris · Leafy green

40 pairings

Beet greens are the leafy tops of the ordinary table beet (Beta vulgaris) — the same plant grown for beetroot, but the part that grows above ground. They are broad, glossy, deep-green blades, often bronze-tinged, carried on slender stalks and midribs that run vivid red, crimson or pink from the same betalain pigments that colour the root below. Cooked like Swiss chard the world over, they taste earthy and mildly bitter, sweeter and softer than chard, with a clear beet-like note.

Picking a good onedrag

Glossy deep green, stalks standing upYellow and limp, slimy at the stalk

Market freshThe everyday bunch: stewed with garlic and oil, wilted into soup or beans, folded into a frittata. Start the thin stalks a minute ahead of the blades.Everyday best

BladeGreen throughout, the gloss gone flat

Stalk and bladeSofter, but the stalks still carry their own weight

SmellFaintly green and earthy, little else

What to look for, from glossy deep green, stalks standing up to yellow and limp, slimy at the stalk.

Preparing