| Cover the currants with boiling water, let them soak for 15 minutes, and drain them. While they are soaking, wash the beet greens, strip the leaves from the stems, and cut the leaves into chiffonade*. Chop the stems into 2-inch lengths. Stem the mint (use a smooth-leaved variety if available), wash the leaves, and chop them into chiffonade. Put on a pot of salted water for the pasta. Peel the onions and the garlic and chop them both fine. Saute them with the bay leaf over medium heat in 1/4 cup olive oil for about 5 minutes or until they turn translucent. Add the beet leaves and stems and the currants and cook 5 minutes more, covered. Meanwhile, when the water has come to a boil, add the pasta. Uncover the beet greens, season with salt and pepper, and add the mint leaves. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and toss well with the sauce, moistening it with a ladle of the pasta water and the rest of the olive oil. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 5.
*chiffonade: layer the leaves, destemmed, and roll them together tightly so that they resemble a cigar. Chop finely so that they splay away from one another.
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