Culinary Guides

This warm salad uses the whole beet, roots and greens both. Roasted beets and fennel sit on a bed of garlicky white beans, and the beet tops become a bright chimichurri so nothing goes to waste. A soft-boiled egg and a little Parmesan turn it into a full meal.

For the beet greens chimichurri

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup firmly packed chopped beet greens
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to thin
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the garlicky white beans

• 1/2 pound Cannellini or Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
• 4 fat cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the roasted beets and fennel

• 1 bunch beets, greens removed and beets cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch wedges, a few fronds saved
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

To finish

• Soft-boiled eggs
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make the chimichurri

1. Pulse the garlic in a food processor, add the beet greens, and pulse until roughly chopped. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil, then the vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth, thinning with more oil if needed. Set aside.

Cook the beans

1. Drain the soaked beans and put them in a saucepan with the whole garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Cover with water by about 2 inches.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain, saving a little cooking liquid, discard the bay leaves, and lightly mash the softened garlic into the beans, loosening with reserved liquid to keep them creamy.

Roast the vegetables and boil the eggs

1. Heat the oven to 425F (220C). Toss the beet and fennel wedges with olive oil, salt, and pepper, spread on a baking sheet, and roast about 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until tender and caramelized.
2. Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 7 minutes for a soft yolk, then cool in ice water and peel.

Assemble

1. Spoon the white beans into bowls and top with the roasted beets and fennel. Halve the eggs and set them on top, drizzle generously with the beet greens chimichurri, and finish with Parmesan and a few fennel fronds. Serve warm.

Grower's tip: when you grow fennel for the bulb, mound soil up around the base as it swells to keep it pale, tender, and sweet. Harvest the bulbs before the plant sends up a flower stalk, and save the feathery fronds for garnish.

Nearly everything here comes from the garden. Grow your own beet seeds (the greens make the chimichurri) and fennel seeds for a salad that uses the whole plant.