Sauteed Beet Greens Tossed with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

On Tuesday night, I headed home after the tandoori demonstration to prepare dinner for B and I.  I had noticed earlier in the day that the beet greens on our beets were starting to look a little less than fresh.  Since I knew that they would probably wilt in a few days, I needed to use them immediately by using the beet greens as an ingredient for dinner that night.

I've actually never cooked beet greens before but I did some research and discovered that one of the easiest ways to prepare beet greens is to sautee them like chard or kale.  I figured that a simple way to use sauteed greens is to toss it with spaghetti, which I had readily available at home.  But I did need a few more ingredients so I stopped at DeLuca's Market on the way home and picked up some beautifully ripe cherry tomatoes and chicken andouille sausage to add to the pasta dish.

When I got home, I put a pot of water with some generous shakes of salt on the stove.  While the water began to heat up to a boil, I prepared the rest of the ingredients.  I roughly chopped up four or five small cloves of garlic along with a small yellow onion.  B washed and dried the cherry tomatoes and the beet greens.  I halved the tomatoes, roughly chopped the beet greens, and sliced two of the pre-cooked chicken andouille sausages. 

When the water began to boil, I added a handful of whole wheat spaghetti to the pot.  While the pasta began to cook, I heated up a wok with a generous pour of extra virgin olive oil that had been soaking with dried habanero peppers.  I like to use this spicy extra virgin olive oil when I toss it with pasta dishes.  When the wok was sizzling, I first added the garlic and onions.  I also added a bit of salt and fresh cracked black pepper for seasoning.  Once the garlic and onions began to sweat, I added the cherry tomatoes and then slowly added the beet greens by the handful and finally the chicken sausage.  As a last touch and perhaps an afterthought, I seasoned the wok by adding red pepper flakes and dried thyme.  I put a lid on the wok and let the sauce simmer to let all of the good seasoning soak into the olive oil based sauce.

When the pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente, I added the spaghetti to the wok and tossed the pasta with the vegetables and sausage.  I also added some grated Parmesan cheese to the hot pan and gave it another toss.  Although I didn't get any photos along the way in making this quick dinner, I did snap a quick picture of the pasta before serving.

Overall the dish was really bright and colorful.  The entire dish had a nice mellow heat to it.  The sauteed cherry tomato juice combined with the sauteed onions, garlic and extra virgin olive oil made a light and pleasant sauce for the pasta.  The beet greens had a spinach-like texture although a bit more bitter in taste.  But this was a nice flavor in contrast to the sweet tomatoes and the sharp Parmesan cheese.  My only regret is that I didn't choose a more herb-flavored chicken sausage, which would have been just as lean but probably a better flavor complement to the pasta than the andouille sausage.

I am loathe to throw out fresh ingredients and I'm glad I decided to give beet greens a try.  I'll definitely be cooking them more often as beets have become a regular ingredient in my kitchen.  If you have any suggestions on cooking with beet greens, please send them my way!  I'd love to hear them.