• ½ yellow onion, diced 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 1 cup wild rice 
• ¼ cup dry white wine or chicken stock 
• 1 medium butternut squash 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 1 to 2 small heads of cauliflower, cut into small florets 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• Zest of 1 Meyer lemon 
• ½ bunch of parsley, stems removed, leaves minced 

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Start heating 4 cups water in a pot. 

In a medium pot, sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the rice and toast for 1 or 2 minutes.  Add the white wine and reduce until dry.  

Slowly add hot water to the rice, approximately ½ cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wild rice will take a while to cook (at least 1 hour) and will absorb a lot of water. Keep stirring, adding water in ½ cup increments as it gets absorbed, until the rice is tender.  

While the rice is cooking, peel the butternut squash. Remove the seeds and cut the squash into small cubes. In a mixing bowl, dress the diced butternut with salt, pepper, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the brown sugar. Spread on a lined baking pan and roast in the oven until tender, approximately 35 minutes. 

While the squash is roasting, sauté the cauliflower in butter until brown and tender. 

To serve, mix the roasted butternut squash into the rice. (You may not need all of it; reserve some for later use if it seems like too much.) Grate in some zest from the lemon and spoon the mixture into serving bowls. Top with the roasted cauliflower, brown butter, and parsley. 

SERVINGS | PREP TIME 30 MINUTES | COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MIN

Ingredients 

• 4-5 medium beets
• Lemon zest from one lemon
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian Parsley
• 4-6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F Tightly wrap beets in a double layer of foil and roast on a baking sheet until tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours (depending on size of the beets). Cool in foil package, about 20 minutes. Alternatively, whole beets can be roasted in a casserole dish covered with a lid. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together lemon zest and juice, red onion and Italian Parsley. Stir in oil, season with salt and pepper and let stand while the beets finish roasting (or while they cool).

This gives the dressing enough time for the flavors to develop. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, rubbing the skin off with a paper towel, discarding stems and root ends, then cut into 1.5 cm wide wedges.

Transfer to a serving bowl to further cool.

Once the beets have reached room temperature, toss them with dressing. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve and enjoy