I hate waste. I really really do.
So when my Dad reminded me of a wonderful way to enjoy the woody Silverbeet stalks without throwing them into the compost bin, I was thrilled!
My Dad, what a trooper! He really is something in the kitchen!
Silverbeat is also known as Bietole, Chard in America and we know it here in Australia as Silverbeet. I speak the International language 🙂
While Silverbeet leaves are great for filling gozleme, bouregs, or really in any recipe that calls for spinach, the woody stalks are almost certainly thrown out in most kitchens.
Here, they are transformed into a tasty side dish, a star in their own right.
Braised Silverbeet stalks with Garlic, Olive Oil and Vinegar.
- 1 large bunch Silverbeet
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ cup White Wine Vinegar.
- Sea salt
Wash your Silverbeet stalks well. If you are not using the leaves for another recipe, reserve them by blanching them and popping them into the freezer. Remember, food waste is not on!
Trim stalks and lightly peel any fibrous exterior like you would with celery. Chop them into rough 7cm pieces.
Place them into a saucepan with plenty of boiling water to submerge the stalks and boil them, covered, for 10 minutes until tender.
Drain the Silverbeet well and quickly return to the pot together with 2 crushed garlic cloves. Turn off the heat, place the pot cover back on and let the garlic steam together with the stalks for 5 minutes.
Serve the stems with a dressing of vinegar and olive oil. Season as required with a bit of sea salt flakes.
These are equally good straight out of the pot warm as they are cold. Even better the next day
Enjoy!
Gourmet Wog 
Divine!
🙂 Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy 🙂 Have a lovely day x
This sounds like a great way to use the chard stalks – I’ll save your recipe for when my plants get bigger and I’m looking for ideas for how to use them!
A great idea Lisa! I always feel strange throwing out the stalks too-kale has really woody ones so I stir fried them a little and put them in an omelette. This is a great idea for silverbeet and I bet it works for kale too!
Yes! I’m certain this would work wonderfully with Kale and English Spinach stems too. Anything dressed in garlic, olive oil and vinegar is delish 😉
Ooh I love using up things you’d normally throw away! Yum!
Me too Claire! I get a kick out of it 😉
No I have never thrown silverbeet or broccoli stems away but have stirfried/steamed them separately from faster cooking vegetables. Have not added all of your ‘taste bounty’ tho’ and surely shall 😉 !
I love broccoli stems too, I find them tastier than the florets!
This is brilliant Lisa! I used to waste them and said to my mum what to do with them…she said that she adds them to everything. Soups, slow cooker…years ago I thought you weren’t supposed to eat them.
Me too Amelia, I used to chuck them but now I get a kick out of finding useful ways to cook them 🙂
I’ve never thrown them away. I guess I’m too cheap to do that. 🙂 I chop them and start sautéing them in olive oil and garlic a while before adding the leaves.
Your Dad’s idea is a good one, Lisa, and something I’m sure to try this Summer. I really like vinegar and welcome any chance to use it. Thank you both!
not cheap at all John, it’s great to be conscious about wastage, or lack of 😉
I hate waste too. Your father seems very skilled in the kitchen. It really isn’t right to use the green leafy part then throw out these stalks if they’re edible. Thanks for sharing a recipe for them xx
Welcome Charlie 🙂 You’re right, it’s not right at all! I love finding ways to use up every bit of fruit/veg with minimal wastage
I also hate waste and usually throw everything into my soup pot!
Soups a great idea Tandy! Stock too 😉
I’ve always given the stems to the chickens but this is a great idea for me!
Yeah, don’t let the chickens have all the fun!
Hi Lisa, I tried leaving a comment a while back… but for some reason my comments aren’t getting posted on some blogs. But I did read and enjoy your post, and will be coming back to this recipe once the chard leaves in the garden grow big enough – sounds like a great way to use the stalks.
Hi Sarah, I’ve been having some issues too with certain blogs, I found that it was all because of my crappy server Internet Explorer. I downloaded Safari (I use a PC, so it didn’t come standard as it does with Macs) and problemo gone. Hope this might help you 🙂
Thanks for letting me know too, and for stopping by 🙂
I love this idea! I too hate throwing out stalks and similar when they are perfectly edible – just not always that tasty. This will certainly fix the tastiness problem 🙂
me too Kari! I hate waste, and love finding new ways to eat what we would normally chuck 🙂
I’ve never thrown mine away, I just start cooking them before the leaves. But this idea is excellent too, making a dish in its own right! Nice flavours. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment!
Nazneen
Thanks for your lovely comment Nazneen 🙂
Hi Lisa. I usually put the stalks into the dog food, maybe not next time …
Yum Yum Yum! What a great way to eat them this way! Very tasty looking too! 🙂 Yummmm!
Thanks so much Sophie! They certainly were a great way to eat them, more so considering how many people normally throw away this part of the vegetable x