Skillet Grilled Beets and Greens

Skillet grilled beets and greens

7/30/2016

BEETS! You either love them or you hate them, and sometimes you hate them because you've never had GOOD beets. I find it really fun to change people's mentality when it comes to foods. I have had many friends and family tell me they do not like a particular food, and it becomes a game for me to make them like it. Like beets.

If you tell me you don't like them, then be prepared to have to try them the next time you come over for dinner. I can almost guarantee I can change your mind about them.

The key to beets, in my opinion, is to cook them low and slow, let their natural juices caramelize. I am also a lazy beet cooker, I do not peel my beets.

Beets are a staple at our house. This year was the first year I have grown a successful beet crop. In the process I found a favorite, and often under utilized, portion of the beets...their greens. How many of you buy beets, cut off the green and discard them...I use to be guilty. Mainly because I didn't know what to do with the greens.

Beet greens are amazing! Enough Said! If you like Swiss Chard, Kale, Spinach, you'll love beet greens.

This dish uses the entire beet in one recipe. Bringing out all that the beet has to offer. Cooking them on the grill in a cast iron skillet is a great use of summer cooking. You could also use this recipe for camping!

A cast iron skillet is essential in any kitchen. If you don't have one, get one. The best ones are found in thrift stores...no lie. Find an old, beat up skillet, and season it. Don't get one of those new coated ones (I have one, it's not the same). This skillet is probably 100 years old. My husband found it in his grandfather's old barn, rusted. He cleaned it, seasoned it, and gave it to me as a gift...He knows how to win my heart. I use this skillet pretty much every day. The key to keeping it seasoned...don't clean it. Seriously, you can ruin a skillet by cleaning it with soap and water. Just take a paper towel and wipe it out. The little browned bits add flavor to the next dish.

This dish has quickly become a favorite of my kids. My oldest adores all things beets. She will easily order a beet salad for dinner at restaurants. (I have to catch her when she is outside. She ate half of the beet crop straight from the garden! That sneaky devil.)