It’s pasta o’clock and I’m switching it up today with this tortiglioni in a creamy beet sauce. It’s pink, so you know it’s going to be good!
I’m always diverting from traditional pasta sauces because life is too exciting to do boring things. The method this recipe follows is the tried-and-true method I use for most of my pasta sauces, and it’s SO easy.
It requires the cooking of the star ingredient, in this case, beets, followed by the blending, seasoning and simmering. Not to mention the addition of coconut milk to make it extra creamy and delicious. That’s it! So easy. So good!
You can use whatever pasta you would like, but I prefer a rigatoni or tortiglioni as they have those gorgeous grooves to suck up and hold onto this vibrant sauce. My most favourite pasta to use can be found here.
It’s tortiglioni time to make this dish!
Simple Beetroot Pasta
Serving size: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 red beets, peeled and quartered
- 450 g pasta (I prefer tortiglioni)
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat’s cheese, for topping (optional)
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped, for topping (optional)
Instructions:
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add the beets, cooking until fork-tender (about 25-30 minutes).
- Use a wire spider (or a slotted spoon) to carefully remove the beets from the boiling water and transfer to a high-powered blender. Add the pasta to the same water the beets were cooking in and boil until ‘al dente.’
- Blend the beets with the broth and a pinch of pepper, until smooth.
- Add the olive oil to a large saucepan set over medium-low heat. When hot, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant, being careful not to burn. Pour in the beet puree and simmer until smooth, stirring often. Pour in the coconut milk and let simmer until sauce thickens, approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to coat and finish cooking. Add more salt and pepper to taste. *If you salted your pasta water enough, you may not need to add more salt at this point.
- Transfer pasta to a serving dish and top with the cheese and parsley, if using. Bon appetit!
