A few weeks ago we went to New Orleans, and one of the restaurants inspired this dish of orange beets.

Compere Lapin served us a beautiful beet salad made with pistachios and kale pesto. When I purchased the beets to attempt to make this, the beet greens were so fresh I couldn’t discard them. Thus, beet greens pesto. If you can’t find beets with healthy beet greens attached go ahead and use kale or serve with this homemade basil pest0 or this seven herb garden pesto.

Beets are no stranger to Spinach Tiger. I have over 25 beet recipes and the most popular one has always been my red beet smoothie.

There are months that beets go off my radar, but that shouldn’t happen because the health benefits are just too powerful. 

Beets contain betaine, a substance that relaxes the mind and is used in other forms to treat depression. It also contains tryptophan which is also found in chocolate and contributes to a sense of well being, promotes the health of internal organs and a growing body of evidence shows that betaine is an important nutrient for the prevention of chronic disease. Beet Greens are also extremely healthy, high in iron, Vitamin K, magnesium and much more.

I’ve sauteéd beet greens in this recipe but this is the first time I’ve used them raw.

Ingredients

• Red Beets (feel free to use beets of other colors)
• Olive Oil
• Basil
• Garlic
• Orange
• Lemon
• Pistachio Nuts

Roasted Orange Beets with Beets Greens Pesto is the Foodie Salad for Health Nuts

I roasted the beets after dousing with a little olive oil and a lot of freshly squeezed orange. The beets greens were mixed with some olive oil, a little basil, garlic, orange and pistachio nuts. I had my doubts that this would work, but when you take a bite of the beet with the beet greens pesto, lemon it comes together well.

This is a simple dish, but it has complex flavors and layered textures. You could add in some goat cheese and make this a meal all by itself or serve it with a more subdued fish dish.

More Beet Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Ginger Roasted Salmon with Orange Roasted Beets
• Golden Beets Carpacio
• Red Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese
• Red Beet & Bacon Goat Cheese Flatbread
• Raw Red Beet Pesto
• Red Beet Smoothie
• Beet Greens and Candy Striped Beet Salad
• Red and Golden Beet Crostini with Goat Cheese
• Roasted Golden Beets

Print

Roasted Orange Beets with Beet Greens

Orange Beets salad with a pesto of beet greens, pistachios and lemon for a wonderful side dish.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound red beets with beet greens attached
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice and zest of one orange
• squeeze of half lemon
• 1/4 cup pistachio nuts roasted salted
• 1 clove garlic
• few leaves of basil optional
• sea salt
• black pepper

Instructions

• Trim off beet greens. Wash well.
• Using a pairing knife or potato peeler, peel skin from beets and cut into quarters or large bite sized pieces.
• Douse with a tablespoon of olive oil and juice of half of the orange with zest.
• Wrap in foil and roast in oven at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes or until tender. Check at 15 minutes and turn.
• Remove and douse with remaining orange and zest of that orange while still warm.

Beet Pesto

• Mix in small food processor or blender, beet greens remains olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and two tablespoons pistachio nuts. Blend until smooth. Taste to season with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if needed.
• Bring beets to room temperature. Drizzle with more olive oil if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Top with beets pesto and remaining pistachios.

The post Roasted Orange Beets with Beet Greens Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.