I know what you’re thinking: kind of a weird combo.
I know.
But it’s really good.
I would never have thought of it on my own. First of all: beets? Super random. But I was at an eBay Fashion event last week, and Christine from MyStylePill and I basically dove head-first into a bowl full of farro, oranges, and golden beets…so I figured I’d see if I could whip up something similar at home.
My grocery store doesn’t carry farro, so I swapped in orzo (quinoa and couscous would also be nice in this dish). I also went for clementines because it’s that time of year, and added red beets and asparagus for color. We ate this all on its own as an entree (and our son seems to enjoy it for breakfast), but it would also be awesome as a side dish alongside some roasted chicken. Yum.
What you need:
1 package orzo
1 small bunch beets
1 bunch asparagus
4 clementines, peeled and sectioned
Juice of 2 lemons
Olive oil
Sea salt
What you do:
1. Cook orzo in salted boiling water according to package instructions.
2. Cut the tops from the beets, cut beets in half, and place in a microwave-safe baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Rinse, peel, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. (Or just use canned ones; those are fine, too.)
3. Cut off tough ends of asparagus (use this test to find out where to cut them), toss with olive oil, and lay on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast at 400F for about 6 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven and cut into 1″ pieces.
4. Toss cooked orzo with beets, clementines, and asparagus, and dress with lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt.
Can be served either warm or cold.
