Pink Pasta

Our CSA is now including beets in our share weekly and while I really love roasted beets in salad or paired with goat cheese, or served warm with dill, I must say my repertoire is in no way extensive enough to keep up with the quantities in my crisper.

As some of you may know, I was recently given a pasta machine and used it for the first time last week and now I'm on a roll (sorry, had to make the pun!). When I saw a gorgeous post from Inge at Vanielje Kitchen for beetroot pasta I knew I had to to try it. Sometimes things just come together in the nicest way.

I've learned a few things:

1) Making fettucini on a seriously hot and humid day is a challenge. There is no point in trying to make pretty nests, as everything just sticks to itself.

2) When the nests idea fails, having something ready to hang the strips of pasta from is wise. I ended up using plastic coat hangers! (Note to self: get some dowel rods for this purpose.)

3) Trying to deal with long strands of fettucini while answering a continuously ringing phone is insane. Turn off the phone next time.

It's difficult to outshine blazingly pink pasta, but the sauce recipe I used does just that. The sweet, earthy combination of beets with garlic, sage, blue cheese and cream had our eyes rolling back in our respective heads with pleasure.

And if you want to keep up with the pink theme, serve some Pink Lemonade Bars for dessert.

Beetroot Fettucini with Beets and Blue Cheese
pasta recipe adapted from Vanielje Kitchen and sauce from Ann Gunkel

Roast the beets:

Wash 6 medium-sized beets. Cut off the tops and wrap each in aluminum foil (drizzle olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt). Place in a shallow pan and bake at 400 F for 50-60 minutes. (If it's too hot to be using the oven, you can put the beets in a dish, drizzle with the olive oil and salt and then cover them with plastic wrap and microwave them for about 8 - 10 minutes.) Allow the beets to cool for 15 minutes or so and then using a paper towel, rub each beet to remove the skin.

Puree 2 of the beets in a blender and set aside. This will be used in the pasta dough.

Dice the remaining beets and place in a separate bowl. You'll be using them for the sauce.

Make the pasta:

2 cups "00" flour, plus more for work surface
2 large eggs, and 1 egg yolk, beaten
Pinch of salt
2 - 3 tablespoons pureed beets

Mound flour in center of a large work surface, and make a well in the middle. Pour the eggs into the well and add the salt and 2 large tablespoons of the pureed beet.

Using a fork, beat eggs--  slowly incorporating the flour, beginning with inner rim of well. When flour is incorporated, gather dough together to form a rounded mass. Begin kneading dough with the palms of your hands. If the dough seems too stiff you can add a little more of the pureed beet. If it seems too sticky, add more flour. Once it comes together scrape up any dried bits of dough and discard them.

Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic-- about 15 - 20 minutes-- and then wrap it in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

To make the fettucini begin by dividing the dough into 4 equal pieces and patting them flat. Lightly flour them and cover them with plastic wrap. Pass the first piece of dough through the widest setting a couple of times, each time folding it in thirds before rolling it through again. Then continue rolling the dough, setting the machine one step smaller with every pass until you've reach setting 6.

Attach the pasta cutter to the machine and run the lengths of dough through it. Theoretically you can lightly coat your fettucini with flour and let it rest, but we hung our strips up to dry.

Reserve any of the pureed beet you have left-- you can add it to the pasta water later to help keep the pasta from fading too much during cooking.

Make the sauce:

The remaining 4 roasted beets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 cup crumbled roquefort cheese
chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley for garnish
salt & pepper, to taste

Saute the onion, sage and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and continue cooking to reduce by half. Add the beets, cream, stock, and salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, set a large pot of water to boil, adding a heaping teaspoon of pureed beet. Put the pasta in to cook when the sauce is ready-- it will only take about three minutes. While the pasta is cooking, turn the heat down under the sauce, and add the roquefort, stirring it to incorporate.

Drain the pasta and place in a serving bowl. Pour the sauce over and toss. Garnish with parsley and a little more cheese, if desired.

Comments

[Sophie]

This just looks incredible!! Homemade beet pasta with blue cheese sauce...mmmmm. Sounds wonderfully decadent and delicious.

[Lore]

Pink pasta always makes me smile :) The entire dish is so vibrant! I'm planning on making a trio sometime: pink, green and white pasta.

[dhanggit]

this is so gorgeous ann!! i'll definitely bookmark this recipe for valentine season :-)

[Susan]

Outside of dumplings, I haven't made any pasta from scratch. I know it'll drive me crazy at first, but looking at your results, I'm feeling more confident about it. So very pretty. Did you see the recent article in the Times on beets? Apparently they are far more healthy than initially thought. : )

[Elle]

I'm still so afraid to make pasta--you are good! This dish is gorgeous!

[african vanielje]

Ann, this looks fantastic, despite your humidity difficulties. Elle, I wish you'd just dive in and try. Pasta is soooo easy, and beetroot gives a lovely earthy taste as well as this gorgeous colour.

Ann, the sauce sounds absolutely gorgeous. I can almost feel my eyes rolling back in my head.

[Ben]

Oh that is a GORGEOUS looking pasta. I love to make my own pasta and this is something I will definitely try soon. Great recipe!

[Zita]

Never make a pasta before.. but this recipe is worth the try... superb colour :)

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Ah, beets with garlic, sage, blue cheese and cream: yes that would have me moaning with pleasure!

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Pretty in Pink!
Looks like your efforts were well worth the trouble!

[Hanna]

Yummy, that just is something worth trying! Beets and blue cheese is one of the best combinations!

[GirlCanBake]

Beet insanity! I love it! I must admit, I'm not as savy with my beet recipes either. I just have a few in my firing fun. You post has totally inspired me to broaden my beet horizons! Thanks!

[Maura]

I loooove beets! I want a pasta maker but the Hubs just raises an eyebrow every time I bring it up. Maybe for Christmas. We're working on perfecting our ice cream this summer.

Anyway, I'm so impressed with your pasta!! When can I come for dinner? Incidentally, red pasta reminds me to look up a recipe for drunken pasta I had in Florence on my honeymoon.

[Cakespy]

Daaaammmn that looks good. I love beets in any way, shape or form--this looks like a great addition to my repertoire--perhaps with some beet cake for dessert!

[Kate]

This recipe looks amazing. I am really interested in cool twists for pasta. I'm going to try it this weekend!

You might be interested in my website. There are some incredible recipes.

Thanks for the idea!

Kate

http://www.JustOnePlate.com

[michelle]

It's gorgeous, Ann! I haven't made pasta since we moved (and now your comment about hot, humid days has me a little wary), but I was just thinking the other day while making a beet salad that all that beautiful juice running down my sink as I peeled them should be going to color pasta! Great idea about adding the reserved puree to the pasta water to preserve the color too!

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Ooooh, the color! It's time I dusted off that pasta machine in the cellar and got to work. Beets and blue cheese -- doesn't get much better than that.

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

I too saw the beet pasta on African Vanielje's blog and was mesmerized by the lovely colours. Your bowl of pasta is equally as mesmerizing.

[Olga]

Love beets! So impressive you made beet pasta. I've made a similar thing with just normal pasta, cream sauce, beets, cheese and nuts: when served warm, really good in the winter.

[grace]

this sounds like quite an undertaking, but the end result sure is beautiful! i don't particularly care for them, but if nothing else, beets do provide a lovely color (and perhaps a few nutrients and the like...). :)

[Lisa]

Ok......that looks amazing and I can't help but comment on the presentation. Perfect on the earthy yellow plate with just a touch of the green parsley to cool down the visual heat of the dish. The napkin underneath works perfectly. When are you going to do a post on cooking in color? xo

[Astra Libris]

oooooh!!! I. Am. In. Awe. Your pasta is positively the most beautiful pasta I've ever seen!

[Shari]

Your photos are stunning! And this recipe sounds amazing. I love your pink-themed menu!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

[melissa]

Fantastic job! What a great way to use the beets, on both counts.

Also, I haven't bought my pasta maker yet, but I do have these thingamabobs bookmarked. So if you're looking for drying apparatuses (why isn't that apparati? heh):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000W87VXY/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=AKDMFNI0IM4P0&v=glance

or for a cheaper one that apparently works very well:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004UE7U/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

[mimi]

this looks terrific! what gorgeous color in the fresh pasta. i saw beets at the farmer's market this weekend but just couldn't bear the thought of roasting them when it was so hot!