Italian Beet Green Gratin

  • I bought a lovely bunch of beets at the Farmers Market yesterday and wanted to make something using the greens. Did you know beet greens are a good source of iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamins A, C and B-6? That's a powerful little veggie and in this recipe you get a full one cup per serving...and you almost don't even know it's there!

    Italian Beet Green Gratin
    4 servings

    1 T. olive oil
    1-2 clove garlic, minced
    3/4# hot Italian sausage
    8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
    4 C. beet greens, cleaned and removed from stem
    1/2 C. fresh basil, coarsely chopped
    4 egg yolks, beaten
    1 C. cottage cheese
    1/2 C. fresh shredded Parmesan

    Directions

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

    Melt the olive oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sausage and cook until sausage is no longer pink. Do not burn the garlic; reduce heat if needed. Add the mushrooms, turn heat down to medium-low, and cook until mushrooms are tender. Add the beet greens and basil; mix well. Remove pan from heat.

    In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Combine everything and put into a lightly oiled baking dish. (I used a glass pie plate.) Bake for 30-45 minutes.

    Calories 230
    Fat 14.1
    Carbohydrate 6.1
    Protein 19.6

    This is the original recipe.

    I served this with 1 ounce brown rice pasta spaghetti style (I can't eat wheat) and a salad with leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and Italian dressing.
    Meal totals - Calories 434; Carbs 34; Fat 23; Protein 25. Very filling and very yummy!

    Enjoy!

    Edited to add: You might be able to substitute fresh spinach for the beet greens.
  • That looks scrumptious.