CSA Beet Greens - Braised Beet Greens with Chicken Sausage

I like most vegetables, but I've never been a huge fan of beets. As such, I was less than thrilled about the huge bundle of beet greens in my CSA pickup. Not one to be easily deterred, I searched the internet for a recipe that sounded good, and modified it to sound even better.

Braised Beet Greens with Chicken Sausage
inspired by Simply Recipes

Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large bunch (about a pound) beet greens
1 12 oz. package chicken sausage, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/6 cup cider vinegar
canola oil
parmesan cheese, optional

Wash the beet greens very well. I filled up the salad spinner with water twice and mushed them around before spinning. Fresh from the farm vegetables are amazing, but they have a lot of dirt on them. Organic dirt, but dirt nonetheless. And one scary spider on the turnips, but that's a story for another day.

In a large saute pan (or soup pot, something with a lid), heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sliced sausage and cook for about 5 minutes. I used Applegate Organics chicken sausage, which has all real, identifiable ingredients, and nothing sketchy.

Add the garlic and cook one minute more. Pour in the water and add the sugar and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to low.

Add in the beet greens. It will seem like way too much and you might think your pan isn't big enough. You'll be surprised at how quickly they cook down.

Cover and allow to simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes. Add in the vinegar. Top with parmesan cheese for serving if you are into that sort of thing. Obviously, I am. The beet greens turn a pretty purple color, which is a little hard to see in this picture because I blanketed everything in cheese, but they look good.

I expected the greens to cook down, but not as much as they did. That giant bunch was about a cup when all was said and done. I had planned this dish to be primarily greens with sausage, but it turned out to be the other way around.

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