Lemon Parsley Pasta with Greens

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Another day, another oddball recipe. I wanted to use up leftover beet greens and spinach, but I wasn't sure how. I've never had beet greens before but they sure looked like rainbow chard. So I treated them as such by removing the ribs and blanching them. I took a quick taste test. And apparently, beet greens taste like beets (duh!) with a slight bitterness. To take the bitter edge off, I made a quick lemon parsley pesto to go with the greens and the pasta.

• 1/2 pound of pasta
• 1 1/2 cups of parsley, roughly chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
  
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups of beet greens or chard, ribs removed, blanched and chopped
  
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 cup of Pecorino cheese, grated (optional)

Cook garlic in olive oil over medium low heat until garlic turns light brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic oil to food processor, along with parsley and lemon zest. Puree to combine. Set aside. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Place washed spinach into a colander to drain excess water. Drain cooked pasta by pouring water directly over the colander containing washed spinach. This process will also welt the spinach. Toss together cooked pasta, lemon parsley pesto, welted spinach and blanched beet greens. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Top pasta with Pecorino cheese if desired.

The result is a bright and hearty green pasta without the bitterness. It is an unusual way to eat greens and probably not something that I would eat everyday. But it is a nice way to add some greens to our vegetable diet.