Tuscan Kale with White Beets and Farro

I know it’s been a while. I apologize for that. Life gets in the way, as it tends to do.

I have some good stuff coming your way though. Even some giveaways! So I hope you’re all still around.

So in addition to be finally sharing a fabulous dish with you today, I’m also excited that it’s been three years since our fabulous group of Kosher Connection food bloggers came together. I can’t believe it’s been three years! And in those three years, we’ve all grown. It’s amazing to see what our little foodie group can do and where we’ve been.

So today, we’re having a virtual potluck meal of sorts. And I’m bringing a fabulous vegetarian side dish to the table.

Summer in the kitchen, for me, is an exciting  time. The food that I serve is all about what’s in season and as much as possible, what’s local. My CSA pick-up is on Tuesdays and I tend to hit up the various local farmers markets Thursdays and Sundays. I’m thankful to have some amazing options near by.

This dish I’m sharing with you and with my Kosher Connection family is inspired by some greens I had a local restaurant and something I’ve played with over the past several weeks. You can change up any aspect of this dish based on what you have on hand. The greens are interchangeable with any hearty summer green – from kale to swiss chard to spinach to collard greens – you can play with it. I used beets today, but this dish is also wonderful with Japanese Turnips, radishes and other flavorful roots. Additionally, that farro can also be swapped out. I happened to have some ready made farro in my fridge from shabbat cooking, but you can also use quinoa or barley or whatever grain you prefer. The point is to use what you have – the freshest of what you have and to enjoy it.

The white beets that I used can be hard to find, but if you do see them, buy them. They are so great. If you can’t find them though, I’ve used Japanese Turnips in this dish. The taste is obviously not the same, but it’s another great root vegetable that works well against the greens.

I washed and peeled the beets and then I sliced them thinly with a mandoline. I then put them in the hot pan with some olive oil, shallots and garlic. Once the beets had softened, I added in the chopped greens. I added some salt and pepper to taste and stirred everything together. Greens don’t take long to cook.

Once everything was ready, I took everything off the heat and then stirred in the farro. And the dish is ready. It’s that easy. And it’s good. Hope you enjoy!