35 sensational silverbeet recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do you eat the white part of silverbeet? ›

Do you eat the stalks of silverbeet? Yes, you do! I try and use every part of a vegetable when I cook so naturally, I'll use every part of the silverbeet. In all three of these silverbeet recipes, I've included the white stalks, so nothing is wasted.

The young leaves can be used raw in a salad but silverbeet is usually eaten cooked. Puréed or finely chopped silverbeet makes an excellent base for many dishes. Use blanched leaves as a wrap.

Often erroneously called spinach, silverbeet is identifiable by its stems, stalks and the veins on its leaves. It does contain oxalates, which are slightly reduced by cooking and can bind to calcium, a concern for people prone to kidney stones. Silverbeet is a good source of iron, vitamins K, A and C and calcium.

Green silverbeet can be sliced thinly, dressed with olive oil and eaten raw. It can also be sauteed or cooked into frittatas, pies, soups and gratins. High quality silverbeet leaves are clean, large, glossy and tender. They have firm leaf stems and no damaged or discoloured parts.

Foods high in oxalates include kale, spinach, green-leafy vegetables, silver beet, rhubarb, okra, peanuts, cashews, almonds, tea, soy, wheat bran and cocoa powder which can cause kidney stones. If you suffer from stones, your doctor may recommend that you avoid these foods or consume small amounts.

In the UK and the USA, what we call silverbeet is called chard so when reading about these vegetables be sure to identify what country the author is from. Dark green leafy vegetables grow very well in shady areas of the vegie garden.

Spinach is a very versatile green and can be eaten both raw or cooked as the leaves are very tender. Spinach also has a different nutritional profile to silverbeet, containing more calcium and beta-carotene, around a third more iron, and folate.

A relative of beetroot, silverbeet or chard (Beta vulgaris) is a staple in any winter garden; high food value and easy to grow. Generally chard is known as having colored stems, but the names are interchangeable.

And they are relatively disease free – although you can get some fungal problems in spring, namely Cercospora leaf spot (Cercospora beticola Sacc.) - see photo. It produces light grey spots with brown margins on the older leaves. These spots fall out and create 'shot holes' in the leaves.

Blanching has been shown to be effective in removing oxalates from vegetables [49] In a study of the edible halophyte Portulaca oleracea, boiling the leaves, stems, or flowe buds for five minutes reduced the total oxalate in the tissues by, on average, 27% [50].

Should silverbeet be kept in the fridge? ›

Buying and storing

Buy silver beet with crisp stems and dark-green leaves. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to three days.

The CDC assigns nutrition density scores to produce based on their concentration of essential vitamins and minerals. Usual suspects like spinach, chard, and beet greens all have scores ranging in the 80s. But the only vegetable to earn a perfect score of 100 is watercress.

When it comes to combating chronic inflammation in the body, chosen wisely, diet can be one of our most powerful anti-inflammatory allies. Green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, collard, and silverbeet are naturally high in antioxidants and polyphenols.

Silverbeet is just as highly nutritious as the likes of spinach and kale, in some respects packed with more nutrients - such as Vitamin A, K and folate than its kale counterpart.

Spinach is a very versatile green and can be eaten both raw or cooked as the leaves are very tender. Spinach also has a different nutritional profile to silverbeet, containing more calcium and beta-carotene, around a third more iron, and folate.

Because of the oxalic acid Silver beet should be cooked in boiling water before eating.

With its large green leaves, white veins and stalks, silver beet is often mistaken for spinach. Learn how to cook silver beet in this helpful guide. Native to the Mediterranean, silver beet has an earthy flavour and is a good source of folate, fibre and vitamins A and C.