Pretty in Pink Pasta (aka Beet Pasta)

By Genevieve

Now that Super Bowl is over, it's time to post some Valentine's recipes!

Valentine's Day doesn't really have much significance for me, but I still like to celebrate it by watching romantic movies (hence the title of this post) and making treats to fit the holiday theme!  This year, I made two recipes (a dinner and dessert) that both feature a secret ingredient to make them a beautiful Valentine's pink ... beets!

For my dinner recipe, I made this pasta with a colourful beet sauce.  The beets are first roasted in the oven and then pureed with yogurt, lemon, garlic and spices to make a creamy and flavorful coating for the noodles. I also added some toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley on top of my pasta, which I thought made it more special and enhanced the presentation factor, but you can leave the pine nuts out for a more budget-friendly dish.

Since I love beets in any form, especially the flavor of roasted beets, it was no surprise that I loved this pasta! But if you do decide to make this for someone special, make sure they're a fan of beets first because they are definitely the star of this dish!

Stay tuned later this week for my Valentine's dessert with beets!

Beet Pasta

Adapted from Moderate Oven

Ingredients:

• 4-5 oz dried pasta - wide noodles like fettucine or pappardelle work best (make sure they are egg-free for a vegan dish - I used durum wheat ribbons in parsley-garlic flavour)
• 2 medium beets
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt (or soy yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 2-3 tbsp pine nuts
• about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnishing

Instructions:

First, roast the beets. Wrap whole beets in tin foil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven at 400° for about 60 minutes, until they are tender. When the beets are done roasting, peel and slice off the ends. Cut into quarters, then place in a blender.

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until lightly browned. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the blender with the beets.  Add the lemon juice, yogurt, cumin, cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the blender. Puree until you have a smooth sauce. 

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet for a few minutes, until they are lightly browned and fragrant.

To serve, toss the cooked pasta with the beet sauce. If the sauce and pasta have already cooled, you can heat a large skillet on the stove, then toss the pasta and sauce together in the skillet and heat until warm. Top with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley.

Makes 2 servings. 

Pretty in Pink Pasta (aka Beet Pasta) 2022-03-08T18:53:00-08:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Admin