Beet, rice, and goat cheese salad
Description
A simple dish to prepare. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered. Meanwhile, sauté pine nuts in oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the nuts begin to turn brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a small bowl. Reduce heat to low, add onion and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes. Add beets and 1 teaspoon of salt, season with pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beets are tender, about 25 minutes (if the beets stick to the pan, add up to 1/4 cup of water). Remove the bay leaf from the rice. Mix the rice, half of the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, and the beet mixture with the onion mixture. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining pine nuts, goat cheese, and parsley. Serve the salad warm or at room temperature. Serve chilled.