Beet and Spinach Orzo

So I have to admit I haven't been stellar at keeping up with Meatless Mondays, but we do have a lot of meatless other days. I feel like I've significantly reduced our meat consumption, which is the end goal anyway. And now that the chickens are laying we can get a lot of our protein from eggs. I got some tasty beets from the farmer's market and wanted them to be the star of something. I found this recipe on Food52, I know, I'm on there a lot, but I had this recipe saved and decided to make it last night.

Beet and Spinach Orzo 
I changed this up a bit given what I had. I was pretty bummed when I discovered that I didn't have the pine nuts for toasting (I was so sure I did!). And the chickens already got the beet greens so I substituted with spinach.

3/4 pounds beets, I used one grapefruit sized one

2 large handfuls of baby spinach
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

A spring of rosemary

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces orzo pasta
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

1. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a pan, watching them so that they don't burn. Set aside.
2. Peel the beet(s) & chop them into bite-sized pieces. If the greens are still attached remove the leaves and roughly chop them. Or use spinach later like I did. In either case make sure the greens are thoroughly rinsed.
3. Prepare a large pot of salted water to boil the beets. 
4. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced red onion, garlic and rosemary stem. Cook until the onions are tender starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes. I added some balsamic vinegar to deglaze any stuck onion goodness, removed the rosemary, then added the spinach to wilt. 
5. Check on the beets for tenderness. It should take about 10 minutes from when they begin to boil. Remove the beets from the pot using a slotted spoon and get them in the onion and spinach pan with the heat off. Return the water to a boil & add the orzo. I used half a box, at 9 minutes for al dente. Add the cooked orzo to the pan and mix well. Add crumbled goat cheese throughout and a bit on the top of each bowl, and the pine nuts. Liberally apply cracked black pepper, and salt to taste.

Overall, this was a great relatively hassle free dish. I really wanted those toasted pine nuts in there, oh well, next time. Also in the future, I think I'd like it better if the beets were roasted in some balsamic and oil rather than boiled. Roasting beets just brings out all their earthy candiedness. I think boiling the orzo in the beet water is mostly for color? But I'd opt for beet flavor over presentation. This is also very versatile as it would be great with other whole grains. And it'll even be tasty cold in my lunch today over salad greens.

Is it lunchtime yet?