Warm Beet, Fennel & White Bean Salad with Beet Greens Chimichurri
I love a good stick to your bones kind of salad that is chock full of seasonal ingredients and pantry staples that are economical and easy to find. This salad is a great main course that is healthy and satisfying. Fennel and beets are two of my favorite summertime vegetables and they pair really well together. I roasted them on a sheet pan in just a tough of oil, salt and pepper and then served them mixed into a bowl of creamy, garlicky white beans and tossed the whole thing together in a beet greens chimichurri sauce. Of course I had to top my bowl with a boiled egg for good measure. This meal is hands down a new go-to for the summer months. Leftovers are great and extra chimichurri sauce can be used to serve over grilled meat, fish or stirred into pasta. It’s a great way to use those beautiful beet greens. However, if you’re beet sdon’t have healthy looking greens you can substitute with swiss chard, turnip greens or spinach instead. This recipe has a few steps involved but it’s relatively easy. If you choose to use canned beans instead of dried beans it goes faster but the beans aren’t nearly as flavorful. That part is up to you! Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this tasty meal as much as we do. Cheers to the summertime bounty!
Warm Beet, Fennel and White Bean Salad with Beet Greens Chimichurri Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 6
Beet Greens Chimichurri- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup firmly packed chopped beet greens
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more to thin if need be
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 pound Cannellini beans or great Northern beans, soaked in water overnight
- 4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 bunch of beets, greens removed (see above) and beets cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
- 1 large fennel bulk, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges (save a few fronds for garnich)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Soft boiled eggs
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
Preparation
- Prepare the chimichurri by adding the garlic to the bowl of a food processor and processing and pulsing until it's roughly chopped. Add the beet greens and process again until it's roughly chopped. With the motor running, add the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Process until the mixture is smooth, adding more oil to thin as necessary. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Drain the soaked beans and place them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add the garlic cloves, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer the beans until they are cooked through and tender. About 45 minutes to 1 hour (this depends on the freshness of your beans). Once cooked through drain the beans and garlic. Discard the bay leaves and return to the pot. Lightly mash the garlic into the beans. You wan't some beans to be mashed and some to retain their shape. Give the whole pot a big stir after you've mashed your garlic.
- While the beans cooked roast your veggies. Preheat the oven to 425F. Toss your chopped beets and fennel in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast until tender and lightly browned. About 40 minutes. Toss halfway through cooking.
- While the veggies roast bring a small saucepan halfway filled with water to a boil. Gently lower a few eggs into the water and boil until cooked but still soft. About 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl of ice water. When cool enough to handle peel your eggs.
- Divide the beans between bowls and top with the roasted veggies, eggs, and drizzle in the chimichurri. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a few snips of fennel fronds.
Notes
If you're beet greens aren't healthy looking you can substitute with swiss chard leaves, turnip greens or spinach.
This was SO, SO delicious! I wouldn’t change a thing.
I used a combo of red and golden beets, finale fennel, and Tarbais beans. The sauce was scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe-I’m adding it to my ‘make again’ file.
This is amazing! I don´t always like dishes with lots of beans in them, and when I do, they are usually a lot of work. But this was so simple, yet so so so delicious. I´m definitely going to make this again, in fact, I´m going to go through this entire blog to gather some more recipes for the near future!
so happy to hear!
Just made this and it was super yummy! I think I put a tad too much evoo in the chimichurri because it was a little runny, but I never made it before so maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be(?) I also never made beets before, I don’t know why, they came out fabulous! All in all the recipe was pretty good and had things in it I’ve never really eaten much of before but to be certain will be eating a lot more of in the future. Also! If anyone is curious, whenever a recipe calls for beans I always use canned, so much quicker!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this. And yes, the chimichurri is indeed on the runny side. It’s consistency is supposed to be “pourable”. Happy cooking and thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe. xo