Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Wild Rice

Roast the beets: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the clean, trimmed beets into a baking pan tightly covered with foil. Cook the beets for 1 hour, until tender, then allow them to cool to room temperature. When the beets have cooled the skin will slide off easily. Peel the beets then slice each beet in half then into thin wedges.

Cook the wild rice: While the beets are cooking, prepare the wild rice. Bring 4 cups of water and a big pinch of salt to a boil, add the rice, reduce the temperature to low then simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the rice has swollen and split to become tender but not mushy. When the rice is cooked, drain any excess liquid and allow the rice to cool.

Make the dressing: Whisk together the juice from oranges, vinegar, oil, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Place the sliced beets, orange segments, and onion into a glass bowl or large zip top bag and cover with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for several hours up to 2 days.

To serve: Spread the wild rice over a large platter, cover with a nest of greens including the parsley, then spoon the beet mixture into the center of the next. Finish with the toasted nuts, some parsley and a few grains of course sea salt. Alternately, toss everything in a large salad bowl.