Beets & Fennel with Wild Rice

I had both beets and fennel to contend with in my CSA box this week, so this recipe worked nicely. It's a beautiful color. Also, I threw in some leftover turkey the next day and made a whole meal out of it--de-lish!

1 large bunch of beets with greens

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1-2 fennel bulbs, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup Basmati and Wild Rice mixture (1/2 cup of each), rinsed

2.25 cups vegetable stock, heated

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400. Cut greens away from beets and set aside. Wash beets, wrap them in foil, and bake until tender to the core with a fork (about an hour depending on the size of the beet). Meanwhile, cut away stems from the beet greens. Chop into bite size pieces and place in water to soak.

Put the oil in a cold skillet with a tight fitting lid and sweat the onion, fennel, and garlic very gently until softened. Add the rice and coat it well with the oil. Then add the hot stock slowly. Mix well, cover with tight fitting lid, and let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. This usually takes 20-30 minutes.

Remove skin from cooked beets and cut into bite size pieces. Add to rice mixture along with salt and pepper to taste.

Place greens on top of rice, cover, and turn off the heat. Let stand 5-10 minutes until greens are tender, but still bright green. Stir to mix in greens.

Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle pecans on top.

Enjoy!