Silverbeet Recipes

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Silverbeet & Potato Quiche
(Sharlene O’Donnell, North Shore)
 
3 eggs (beaten)
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup self-raising flour
2-3 cooked potatoes (cubed)
1 cup cooked silverbeet (cut into small pieces/strips)
1 cup grated cheese
1 large onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
Butter for greasing flan dish
 
Put beaten eggs, salt, milk and self-raising flour in a bowl and stir just enough to combine.
Saute onion and garlic until cooked.
Add potato cubes, silverbeet, cheese, onion and garlic.
Pour into a greased flan dish. Cook in a moderate oven (180°C) for 30 minutes.

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A Beautiful Salad
(Hope Crarer, Napier)

8 cups baby spinach leaves or the equivalent of silverbeet
1/2 medium red onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 (11oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup honey-roasted sliced almonds or any yummy nuts
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, or to taste

Place servings of spinach onto salad plates. Top with red onion, mandarin oranges, cranberries, sliced almonds and feta cheese in that order.
Drizzle dressing over each salad.
You can use any nuts, blue cheese instead of feta, use any type of dressing, and can add chicken too.

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Beat the eggs and add sifted flour then add onion, feta and cooked and well-drained and chopped silverbeet. Season with nutmeg and pepper.
Heat oil in pan and gently fry fritters. Serve immediately with lemon juice.

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Silverbeet in a bread bowl
From Helen Walls of Hokitika

a recipe she has been using for about 25 years and never fails to impress.

1 bunch of spinach (or silverbeet), cooked and drained well (a large handful is fine)
1 packet dried vegetable soup mix
1 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods is the best as this is an American recipe)
1 cup sour cream
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 small onion, chopped fine

Mix all the ingredients together. Scoop out the inside of a round sourdough bread or similar bread and use as a bowl. Use the torn bits of bread to dip. You can also use crackers or extra bread. When the dip is finished the scooped out bread tastes great!

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Sauteed with soup mix
from Dorothy

First I slash a sharp knife on each side of the silverbeet, leaving the stalk for my worm farm, and the green leaves I steam quickly.
Set aside the water from the pan. Add a knob of butter to the pan, pop the limp spinach back in and a spoonful or two of soup mix, whatever one you enjoy (if I am cooking fish I choose a
seafood one, otherwise one of the mushroom soups is great). Add a little of the saved water, enough to make a fairly thin sauce. Grate nutmeg over and let a sauce happen.

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Pan-fried with rice
(from Shirley)

My favourite way of using silverbeet is putting cold cooked rice in a pan with a little butter/oil and pan-frying with garlic. Then I add a little chicken stock powder and lastly the silverbeet, cooked until wilted and mixed through. Just divine. Everything is to taste depending on how many you are serving.

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(from Lois Taylor)

I always cook silverbeet in a large frypan: cut up the leaves nicely, put in pan, add as many cloves of peeled garlic as you like (I like lots) plus a good knob of butter and a small amount of water. Cook, watching and adding a little water if necessary and cutting up leaves smaller as they cook to get a nice even look. Certainly beats plain old boiled!

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Creamed silverbeet
(from Karen)

Roughly chop washed leaves,
place in saucepan and steam for a couple of minutes (don’t add any water).
Squeeze out all liquid (I use a potato masher), puree,
return to stove on low heat and add a small amount of Philadelphia cream for cooking, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Delicious!

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Silverbeet with Mushrooms
(Charlotte Sorenson)

This is a family favourite and works well with spinach also. Beans that have been blanched can also be added at the same time as silverbeet.  Can also be dressed up with toasted slivered almonds.  There are many possibilities of added flavour such as garlic or a light swirl of balsamic vinegar.

1 large bunch of silverbeet - stems removed and roughly chopped
1 red onion, chopped into eighths
1 cup mushrooms, chopped

Heat a large frypan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Medium heat.
Saute onion in olive oil until soft, not browned. Add mushrooms and saute until just soft.
Add washed silverbeet. There should still be water on leaves to help steam. Cook until leaves just wilted and cooked through. You may need to put a lid on frypan, but ensure heat is still medium to low.
Serve immediately with meal. Goes well with chicken, lamb, beef steak. Always colourful.

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Fried with nutmeg
(from Cathy Hurst)

I usually chop my silverbeet up finely and sauté it briefly in a pan with a dash of olive oil, a grind or two of salt and nutmeg. Has a lovely nutty flavour.

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(by Viv)

This has been the only way I have been able to eat this vegetable for years. It has never been a favourite of mine but I do find this way of having it very delicious as we have plenty in the garden, mainly for the chooks:
Saute onions and garlic in a deep frypan then add chopped silverbeet. Place on lid to cook down in its own juices on low heat. Season and thicken to required taste.

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With coconut milk
(from Toni Taylor of Hamilton)

 

Sear some onion in olive oil and add the silverbeet. Cook gently until silverbeet has wilted then add coconut milk. Delicious!

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On pizza
(from Ruth)

Slice silverbeet thinly and add with onion, garlic and grated cheese to the top of any pizza you make. Yummy and so good for you.

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(from Ernestine)
 
100g mushrooms, finely sliced
Butter for frying
3-4 large silverbeet leaves, finely sliced
¼ cup cream

Sauté mushrooms in a small amount of butter. Add about 1/4 cup water to pan then throw in silverbeet. Keep moving it around until wilted and softened.  Drain off the water and add cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. (If you have some leftover béchamel use this in lieu of cream; it’s still yummy).

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Silverbeet with Tomatoes
(from Joyce)

As much silver beet as you need, very finely sliced
A couple cloves garlic, crushed or sliced
2-3 fresh tomatoes, sliced

Place silverbeet in pan with garlic. Place tomatoes on top, add a little water, cover and cook over medium heat about 5-8 minutes or until tomatoes have softened. Season with salt when cooked.

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Microwave magic
(from Joy Dench, Havelock North)

We have silverbeet in the garden year round and I almost always cook it by slicing leaves and stalks (coloured variety) thinly and cooking in the microwave for few mins with a knob of butter and some chopped garlic. While it is resting after cooking, I sprinkle with herb and garlic salt then serve. Probably not good for the arteries, but hubby and I love it.  Often I will cook broccoli and cauliflower florets along with chopped silverbeet in the microwave and toss butter and garlic salt before serving.

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Lemon squeeze
(from Jane Duncan)

After steaming my silverbeet I add a good squeeze of lemon juice and
serve.

Lovely.

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Tex-Mex Silverbeet Frittata
(from PJ Lynn, Auckland)

About 1 cup chopped silverbeet
2-3 potatoes, cooked
4-6 eggs
1 small onion or 2 spring onions, chopped
2 slices bacon or ham chopped
Feta
Salsa or guacamole to serve
 
Briefly cook silverbeet in the microwave for 1 minute, or blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes, then cool under cold water.
Cut cooked potatoes into thick slices. Beat eggs together, set aside.
Fry onion and bacon until soft in a little oil. Add potatoes to the pan, toss to combine, then spread silverbeet out on top of everything.
Pour egg mixture over and tip the pan so the mixture is evenly distributed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over a moderate heat until the egg is set.
Sprinkle feta over top and place under a hot grill for 5 minutes until the top is browned and cheese melted. Serve with salsa or guacamole and enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
(If feta is not available, use your favourite cheese - NZ edam was recommended by a Mexican chef. Blue cheese works well also.)  Serves 2-4

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