Beet Stem Risotto with Roasted Beets and Braised Beet Greens

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Sometimes you get really lucky and get a bunch of beets with gorgeous roots, greens, AND stems. Beet stems are tender and flavorful, but often not substantial enough to receive special treatment. I usually just include them when I cook up the greens. But sometimes they are substantial and deserve their own treatment.

Farmers' Market Beets — Farmers’ Market Beets

I’ve included a couple of pictures to make my point. First, look at that bunch of beets in the first photo! Super pretty: roots, leaves AND stems. Next, look at the photo of the separated parts. It’s like 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. Out of curiosity, I weighed each. The beet roots came in at just over a pound, with 10 ounces of greens and 10 ounces of stems. Certainly, I want to use all three, and even better if I can them all in the same dish. Root to leaf!

My decision was to make beet stem risotto, and pair that with roasted beets and braised beet greens. A little fresh chèvre and chopped fresh mint completes the dish. My wife and I were very happy with the results. To be honest, the beet stem risotto was just fine. I wouldn’t be too excited to have it on its own. But paired with the roasted beets and the braised greens, the whole dish was great. You get to choose how you mix and match each beety component with each forkful.

The Risotto

I’m not going to provide a recipe for the risotto here. It closely follows the what I describe in my risotto mother dish technique. Get the details there. I put the diced beet stems pan at the start, with the diced onions. I stuck with Parmigiano as the finishing cheese, knowing that chèvre was going to added to the top. I raised the oven temperature to 400°F to support roasting the beets in parallel with the time the risotto was in the oven.

Roasted Beets

Roasting beets is quite straight forward. Washing them well, wrap them together in a foil pouch with a drizzle of olive oil, and pop them in a 400° oven for an hour. When they come out of the oven, let them cool for a few minutes so you can touch them. The skins should come off easily. They almost wipe off with gentle pressure from your thumb. Note: Peeling after roasting doesn’t always work with old beets, but with fresh, greens attached beets, it should work well. Overlap the time the beets and the risotto are in the oven.

Braised Beet Greens.

For the braised beet greens, I did a quick braise in white wine. The brightness of the wine contrasts nicely with the earthiness of the beet greens. Make stacks of the greens and slice the leaves into ribbons. You choose whether they are wide or thin. Dunk the leaves in a bowl of water and swirl, to get any sand that may be on them to sink to the bottom if the bowl. Move the cut greens to a colander, to drain. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a couple ounces of dry white wine to a medium sized pot and bring it to a simmer. Add a handful of greens to the pot and stir until the greens wilt a bit, making room for the next handful. Continue adding and wilting until all of the greens are in the pot. Add a good pinch of salt and a couple cranks of the pepper grinder. Stir to combine the seasonings. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.

When it’s time to plate, start with scoops of the risotto. Top part of the risotto with sliced roasted beets. Top a neighboring part with the braised greens. On top of everything, sprinkle some crumbled fresh goat cheese and chopped fresh mint. Enjoy!