You know that old adage, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”? It’s been a weird year, weather-wise, and a busy summer. So things weren’t quite perfect in the garden. My tomatoes were slower than molasses in January, for one thing. Well past the usual time of my first harvest, most were still green. Some of them had blossom end rot in spite of everything I did to try to prevent it. Meanwhile, I sowed too many of several varieties of beet seeds – red, golden, and albino. Last year their germination left a little to be desired. This year, I had to thin the herd rather mercilessly, but I really waited too long to do it. Busy summer, yeah?  So there I was, looking at these gorgeous beet seedlings, and green tomatoes half beautiful & half yukky. Sure, I could have tossed it all over the hill to feed the wildlife. I know from experience that deer will eat green tomatoes and beet greens, hence the fence around my garden. I wasn’t in a sharing mood, though, and there are plenty of other things for the deer to eat. So off I went to the kitchen to see what I could do. Tomatoes with early blossom end rot are still usable at the green stage; you just cut that part away. If you let them ripen, the whole tomato will rot. A bit of a wash for the baby beets, and a whack of the knife for the tomatoes, and a simple, tasty side dish began to take form. This dish is also a great way to use up any green tomatoes you might have left when frost threatens. 

Now, not everybody has baby beet greens, but I think this would work with any other greens, like chard or spinach. Throw in whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, and you’re on your way! Next time I won’t be so stingy with the herbs, so I’ve written the ingredient list to reflect that even though the photo doesn’t. My jalapeno was still a bit under-ripe, so wasn’t all that hot. I think a fully ripe one would be even better.  

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

4 small green tomatoes

1 small jalapeño

2 cloves garlic

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 large basil leaves

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups baby beet greens

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

1.) Roughly chop the green tomatoes. Mince the jalapeño, garlic, and herbs.

2.) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the green tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic, and herbs. Sauté briefly, until everything begins to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

3.) While the tomatoes cook, roughly chop the beet greens.

4.) Add the chopped beet greens to the pan. Stirring frequently, cook just until the greens begin to wilt.

5.) Pour in the lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.