I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound. I can't wear spandex. And I'm fairly sure I can't repel bullets with my pretty little bracelets... though I can't say I've ever tried. But, I can roast a mean beet. And I can put together a pretty good impromptu pasta dish. And here's proof.
For the past 3-4 weeks, Peef and I haven't really been able to see straight. Our lives have been filled with phone calls, meetings, emails, donation pick-ups, marketing and promotions. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to wrangle ourselves into planning not one.. but two fundraisers. All at the same time. And we've been paying for it. Sleep and time deficits abound. And cooking is the last thing on our minds when we get home from a busy day at the office.
Now, I'm going to get flack from some people for claiming that this recipe is quick and easy, since it calls for roasted beets. Yes, I know it takes about an hour to roast beets. But, they're beautiful to have on hand for weeknight meals if you take the time to prepare them in advance. I roasted my beets and my garlic over the weekend, when I actually had the hour to spare. Then I packed them away into glass containers.
When the time came to make dinner, I just reached right into the fridge, grabbed them, and peeled them. It took about five minutes. Also (literally) took about five minutes to whizz the beets and the garlic together in the food processor, adding salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste. I didn't puree it completely, since I wanted a bit of texture to remain. But, I got the mixture fairly smooth.
Then I mixed in a bit of goat cheese, and a tablespoon or so of lemon juice.
Meanwhile, my pasta was cooking away. By the time it was ready, so was my sauce. And voila! Everything was tossed together in a snap.
The sauce was such a brilliant color, I couldn't resist topping it with a few kernels of fresh roasted sweet corn and a handful of fresh basil.
Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.
Perfection for beet lovers everywhere. And quick... even if you're not superwoman.
Beet Sauce for Pasta
If you're curious about those fund-raisers we've been dedicating our lives to, here's a little more info:
Full Disclosure: We were not paid to advertise for Pastificio Lucio Garofalo. All opinions expressed in this blog entry are our own and are reflective of our experience.
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Wow!! That is amazing. Beet color never ceases to amaze me. I wish the US would ban red food coloring.And it sounds delish!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, two fundraisers at once? That sounds like Superwoman to me. (If I could have ANY superpower, I'd want the power to wear Spandex without being laughed at :) You had me the moment I saw that pinkish hue that can only come from beta vulgaris. I adore beets and am so happy they're having their fall resurrection!
ReplyDeleteThat pasta is such a vivid color! I'm so enamored with it, I can't look away.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to have food already onhand for busy weeknight meals!
Goat cheese and roasted beets are the perfect pair!
ReplyDeleteThis looks interesting!! I'll bet the flavours were amazingly fresh - and so healthy! This would be a fun way to serve beets to kids.
ReplyDeletelove beets, goat cheese and pasta! This would be perfect for True Blood watching party :)
ReplyDeleteI think I would have added some pecans on top.
It looks delicious. And no worries: Those fundraisers will be worth the lack of sleep.
ReplyDeleteThe colors in that pasta are so amazing! And I agree that roasting beets doesn't kind in the total recipe time... and its also not as if you have to look at it for an hour either, right? In my mind; oventime doesn't really count... But I love the pasta!
ReplyDeleteWow, that actually does look really simple :) I hope to make it to the Gumbo Git Down. Thanks for all your hard work in the community!
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