Recipe: Roasted Beets, Green Beans and Fennel Salad

The crispness and freshness of the green beans and the fennel offset the sweet flavor of the beets. Serves four.

1 - bunch of beets, trimmed and washed but not peeled
½ lb - fresh green beans. Make sure you don't get the rubbery ones
1 - small fennel bulb

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and roast in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until they start to soften.

Trim the green beans and blanch in salted water. Refresh in icewater and cut into bite size pieces.

Finely shred or julienne the fennel bulb.

Toss the veggies with the following vinegarette:

½ cup - of your best olive oil
¼ cup - rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp - balsamic vinegar
½ tsp - Herbs de Provence
1-2 tsp - sugar or honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all the ingredients together, and adjust the seasoning.

Divide the salad onto four plates, drizzle with a little balsamic syrup and olive oil, and serve. Whites with a touch of residual sugar are a great match for the sweetness of the beets. Try an off-dry Vouvray or Riesling.