Silverbeet

[Dell]

I know I'm home again when I see big bundles of silverbeet in the produce section of the grocery store. My mother boiled i...and I'm not sure if I hated it more than boiled cabbage. But I've been buying it because it is a green-leafy veggie - nutritious and inexpensive.....certainly much cheaper than spinach. I've found it isn't bad steamed with garlic and onion. Does anyone have any tasty recipes for silverbeet?

FYI, silverbeet is similar to swiss chard and everyone has it growing in their veggie garden. It is a kiwi icon!

[kiwieagle]

I know I'm home again when I see big bundles of silverbeet in the produce section of the grocery store. My mother boiled i...and I'm not sure if I hated it more than boiled cabbage. But I've been buying it because it is a green-leafy veggie - nutritious and inexpensive.....certainly much cheaper than spinach. I've found it isn't bad steamed with garlic and onion. Does anyone have any tasty recipes for silverbeet?

FYI, silverbeet is similar to swiss chard and everyone has it growing in their veggie garden. It is a kiwi icon!

I like it with lentils. When I cook it as the main vege, I sautee onion and garlic in a pan, turn the pan off and throw in the silverbeet to lightly wilt.
I use it instead of spinach in recipes that call for spinach (soups and stuff). I don't really like the fibrous, stalky bit and I cut that out. It's much cheaper than spinach because there are about 3 people that live on my street that put it in bags in their drive with signs that say "Free". I don't even bother to plant it myself because if you happen to walk by when they are outside, they might wrestle you to the ground to get you to take some.

Does anybody know if it is like spinach in that it is more nutritious lightly cooked?

[JandM]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-are-healthier They say they're good for us, cooked. I think they're thinking, properly cooked. The kind of old-fashioned boil-it-to-death that lots of us hated as children also draws out loads of goodness and throws it away with the cooking water.

I found some recipes here http://www.yummly.com/recipes/silverbeet-swiss-chard, of the kind that throw other flavours in with it. But I (who met it first in NZ, although I'd heard of chard) like it fairly straight anyway. I've got some little plants I grew from seed last year out there right now, seeming to be quite happy with the English winter.

[amy71]

Try stir frying it with Black Bean Sauce.

[edw123]

I grow it a fair bit, it's one of those easy ones to do in a pot.

Don't like it too much, but there's something in eating food you've grown though, isn't there....

[Dell]

Thanks for the ideas and recipes!