Sauteed Pink Beet Greens

Author Notes

Whenever I cooked beets I felt like I needed to do something with the greens. They are always so beautiful and it seemed a shame to waste them so I did some tests and found my favorite way to eat them. - Marisa Grace Desmond —Marissa Grace

Test Kitchen Notes

This may be the most thoughtful sauteed greens recipe we've ever encountered. Beet greens (which we think deserve more attention in the kitchen) are usually wilted in hot olive oil with a little garlic, and they're delicious this way, but Marissa Grace Desmond plotted out ways to amplify the greens' sweetness while tempering it with chilies. She has you brown garlic with shallot and red pepper flakes, then layer in sugar, black pepper and salt, before adding the greens and wilting them. Just before serving you splash the beet greens with sherry vinegar, which electrifies the whole dish. The key here is the sugar, which caramelizes with the garlic and tightens up the sauce, so by the time the greens are cooked (and beet greens should really be cooked), it wraps the greens in a cloak of sweet and fiery sauce. (By the way, we doubled the amounts here so it would serve 3 people; if you do this, add vinegar to taste.) - A&M —The Editors