Beets and Caramelized Onions with Feta

I've been meaning to post a recipe that I found on Epicurious.com a few weeks ago. The recipe calls for canned beets, but I used freshly harvested beets from Gretta's field that I baked in foil (See easy instructions below). No muss. No fuss. Very tasty.

Beets Baked in Foil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the beets, wrap them in foil, and place on a baking sheet.
If you have different sized beets that will cook at different rates, wrap them separately so that you can remove each group when it's done.
Cook for 45 - 90 minutes until you can pierce the beets easily with a knife.

Peel and serve the beets, or remove, cool, and refrigerate until you're ready to peel and use them.

Beets and Caramelized Onions with Feta

2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (preferably whole-grain or coarse-grain)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb onions (2 medium), quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 (15-oz) cans small whole beets, drained and quartered (or halved if very small)
3 oz crumbled feta (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz), toasted and coarsely chopped

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.

Cook onions with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Add onions to dressing, then add beets and cheese, stirring gently to combine. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

Makes 4 first-course or side-dish servings