How to turn beetroot tops into a delectable Japanese side dish – recipe

Tom Hunt’s beetroot leaf ohitashi, or Japanese-style greens with an umami broth. Photograph: Tom Hunt/The Guardian

The ohitashi method is such an elegant way to enhance the natural flavours of leafy greens, while also reducing food waste. This traditional Japanese technique involves blanching and chilling leafy greens, then steeping them in a simple seasoned broth that imparts a wonderful and rounded savoury umami flavour. Most recipes for such greens use just the leafy part, but with ohitashi the stems are cooked first.

Beetroot leaf ohitashi