Beets Stuffed
With Fairy Ring Mushrooms

Here's an example of how a little fairy ring mushroom can go a long way toward transforming a recipe.

3 medium-size beets
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fairy ring mushroom caps or other mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup Mint-Lime Sauce, Healthy Hollandaise Sauce, or any other creamy sauce in this book
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (1/4 teaspoon peppercorns)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the beets with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and bake them in a 14 X 9 X 2-inch oiled baking dish, covered, until tender, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium-size skillet, add the mushrooms and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

3. When the beets are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out most of the pulp with a grapefruit knife or spoon, leaving a _ inch-thick wall of pulp adjacent to the skin.

4. Chop the scooped-out beet pulp and mix it with the mushroom mixture, bread crumbs, the Mint-Lime Sauce, and pepper.

5. Return the beet shells to the baking dish and pile the stuffing into them. Bake the stuffed beets, covered, for 20 minutes.

Serves 6