Back to the Silverbeet Kitchen
A peak-season weekly menu: one plant, seven dinners
Seven dinners from one row of silverbeet at peak season, with harvest logic through the week and a freezer session on Friday.
It is August, and the row is producing faster than the family eats. This menu is as much a harvest plan as a dinner plan: it tells you not just what to cook, but which part of the plant comes off when, so nothing has time to go limp.
The logic is simple. The outer leaves are oldest and get harvested first, the stems collect through the week for the stir-fry and the grill, and on Friday evening all the surplus goes into the freezer, so the weekend starts with a clean slate and a fresh harvest.
Monday
- Lunch: baby-leaf saladThe smallest inner leaves tossed with olive oil, lemon, and flaky salt. The rest of the day's harvest is cleaned and set ready in the fridge.
- Shakshuka with SilverbeetShakshuka with Silverbeet
Tuesday
- Rainbow Chard Stem Stir-fryRainbow Chard Stem Stir-fry
- For later: the leavesThe leaves from Monday's and Tuesday's harvest are wrapped in a damp tea towel; they are for Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday
- Stuffed Silverbeet Leaves with Rice & HerbsStuffed Silverbeet Leaves with Rice & Herbs
Thursday
- Lunch: cold stuffed leavesYesterday's dolma is at least as good cold, with a spoonful of yoghurt alongside.
- Silverbeet & Feta FrittataSilverbeet & Feta Frittata
Friday
- Silverbeet Pasta with Pine Nuts & RaisinsSilverbeet Pasta with Pine Nuts & Raisins
- Freezer sessionEverything left of the week's harvest is blanched, squeezed, and frozen in portion pucks before the weekend.
Saturday
- Grilled Rainbow Chard Stems with Lemon AioliGrilled Rainbow Chard Stems with Lemon Aioli
- Also on the grillThe stems share the grate with sausages, fish, or halloumi, and the aioli stretches to all of it.
Sunday
- Creamy Silverbeet & Potato GratinCreamy Silverbeet & Potato Gratin
Tips
- Harvest the outer leaves first all week: they are the oldest, and the plant answers by pushing new leaves from the centre.
- The stems keep for days in a damp tea towel, so let them collect for the stir-fry and the grill instead of discarding them as you go.
- Friday's freezer session is the most important quarter-hour of the week: everything frozen now is a finished winter dinner later.