Beet Pasta – A Surefire Winner with Dinner Guests

Credit: Lisa Manfield

The cheerful hue of this unique pasta dish is sure to impress your dinner guests

A friend made me this amazing pasta dish and I immediately requested the recipe.

Its allure has everything to do with the fact that it’s made with beets (food of the gods, as far as I’m concerned). Not only do they offer a nice alternative to tomato sauce, but they also create a colour that is so uniquely beautiful on the plate, it makes for the perfect meal to serve guests.

That said, it does require a fair amount of elbow grease to grate up all the beets required. Get comfortable with pink fingernails, and be sure to protect any light-coloured surfaces, as you will get beet bits all over the place. And, if help is in the house, get another grater going to speed up the prep.

Instructions

1. Roast 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds until you can smell their nutty flavour (several minutes), then set them aside.
2. Grate 1.5 lbs of beets (about five small ones).
3. Melt some butter in a frying pan and saute the beets for about five minutes. Add more butter if needed.
4. Boil water for pasta and make enough for four.
5. When the beets are soft, add two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Cover the beets and let them cook for another 10 minutes.
8. When the pasta is ready, drain, reserving a half cup of the pasta water.
9. Put the pasta back in the pasta pot, add the half cup of water, then mix in the beets. Add the poppy seeds as well.
10. Then crumble a cup or so of feta cheese (you can also use goat cheese, as pictured, which melts nicely to create a kinf of sauce).

For best results, pre-heat the plates in the oven, as the pasta does have a tendency to cool off quickly. Fortunately, your dinner companions will be so wowed by the beauty of this dish, they won’t notice if it’s a wee bit cool when it hits their palette.

Bon apetit!