Friday, December 17, 2010

Beautiful Beets


My favorite thing about beets besides that they are delicious is their beautiful vibrant color.  They seem to bleed deep pink hues onto whatever they come into contact with, which can be a bad thing in the case of your hands, but a good thing if you would like a lovely pink salad or red velvet cake.  Last night I was wondering what it would look (and taste) like to pair them with pasta!  Pink pasta is something I have never seen before, but how beautiful would that be!  I thought the beets would be delicious with whole wheat spaghetti, toasted walnuts, and dandilion greens as well as a bit of roquefort cheese I had on hand.  My thought was correct!   It was wonderful all of those things together, a simple but comforting tasty dish!  The best part was how pretty it looked from the beet's pink color.  If you are looking for a simple meal or a way to use up a beet, here's the recipe!

Beet and Walnut Pasta with Roquefort
Serves 2

4 oz whole wheat spaghetti pasta
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus additional for finishing
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 large cooked beet*  cut into small dice
1 bunch dandilion greens
3 oz roquefort cheese, crumbled

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add shallots and saute until soft and starting to caramelize, about 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic, walnuts, beets, dandilion greens and cooked pasta, and cook until greens have wilted and everything has heated through.  Stir in 1 Tbsp olive oil (or more if desired)  Remove from heat and stir in roquefort.  Serve immediately. 

*to cook beet, wrap in foil, and bake for about an hour to an hour and a half (depending on how large the beet is) until tender and a knife inserted into it goes in easily.  Let cool slightly and peel. 

10 comments:

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, my gosh...this combination sounds fabulous! And such a gorgeous presentation...great looking dish!!

All That's Left Are The Crumbs said...

I agree this is a great combination and I think the flavors would be wonderful.

veggietestkitchen said...

I've never tried roquefort. how is it? any notes on the flavor? from your pic it looks like a crumbl-y blue cheese. does it taste pretty similar?

Amy said...

It is my favorite blue cheese. It is sweet and salty, a bit different from Gorgonzola which is more piquant.

Amy Bakes Everything said...

This is one gorgeous salad! I love the flavor combo!

Monet said...

I too adore the color that beets emit. Such a lovely hue! This pasta salad looks delicious...I'm sure that the crunch from the nuts is great! Thank you so much for sharing with me. Have a super Saturday!

Sindy said...

Your pink pasta looks absolutely beautiful!

Marly said...

You and I are like two beets on a stem! (beet humor!!). I love adding little bits of beets to my recipes to add a little bit of color. I keep the beet juice from jars of pickled beets and use that for coloring sometimes. Crazy, I know. But guess what? We just read in our tennis magazine that beet juice is considered a wonder food! How cool is that? Well, almost as cool as this recipe. Looks yummy!

art is in the kitchen said...

Beautiful indeed! What an exciting salad to relish! Colors no one can resist! Thanks for making this delightful recipe!
Merry Christmas to you and loved ones!

Stella said...

Beautius Maximus! This is really wonderful...wish someone would make it for me;-) It looks good enough to go to the effort to make it for myself though...