When you get your produce from a farmer’s market or CSA, it sometimes looks a little different than at the grocery store. For one thing, it’s not as perfect looking and usually not as clean, both of which I’m completely alright with. Straight carrots are highly overrated. But there’s also the issue of greens; supermarket turnips and beets often don’t have the greens attached at the store. But our recent turnips and beets from our CSA have. I always feel a little guilty throwing out fresh, organic produce that I paid good money for, so I opted to turn the greens into pesto.
This recipe isn’t as much of a recipe as it is a guideline for getting started. In short, you add your greens into the food processor with olive oil and whatever other additions you’d like, process until it reaches your preferred pesto consistency and enjoy. This recipe can be easily stored in the freezer for later use, which is perfect because the fresher your greens are when you make this, the better it will taste.
Spring Greens Pesto
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 8 cups mixed beet and turnip greens washed and stems removed
- 2 stalks green garlic cut into inch long pieces
- olive oil
Possible additions
- salt
- Parmesan cheese
- basil
- other herbs
- garlic
- pine nuts
- almonds
- sun-dried tomatoes
Instructions
- Add 1/3 of the beet and turnip greens to the food processor. Pulse to chop. When the greens are chopped enough to allow room for more greens, add the same amount again and pulse to chop.
- Add the last of the greens and the green garlic, as well as any other additions you're using, to your food processor. Drizzle in olive oil by going around the bowl of the food processor 4 times. Pulse until all ingredients are evenly sized and well mixed.
- Add additional olive oil and continue to process until the pesto develops the consistency you prefer.
- Use immediately, store in the refrigerator or freeze. This pesto can be used on pasta, as a sandwich spread, stirred into soup or in a multitude of other applications.
I love turnip and beet greens, sauteed in some EVOO with garlic and lemon, probably more than the root veggies themselves. Does that make me weird?
No, it makes you awesome!
Thank goodness I just read this.
a) I didn’t know what “green garlic” was, but it’s sitting on my counter right now. (I thought it might be some type of scallion.)
b) I have a ton of greens from my farm share that i don’t know what to do with.
c). Pesto extravaganza coming up! (I was already going to make the scape pesto I’ve been reading so much about.)
So glad I could help! I believe that technically green garlic is garlic that just isn’t fully matured before it’s harvested. At any rate, it’s delicious. Let me know how your pesto turns out!