RecipesPasta & Co

Valentine´s special: Pasta with Beetroot Sauce

by Micaela Harrasser

Looking for inspiring ideas for a valentine´s themed menu? I got you covered with this super simple, lovely beetroot pasta sauce!

The best thing is that it can be made vegan/dairy free just by swapping the creme fraiche with a vegan option, and by omitting the cheese at the end (or use aged cheeses like Parmigiano or Grana, lacking lactose). If you choose the original recipe, the feta cheese or ´salted ricotta´ (from Italy, it´s harder than classic ricotta and it´s made from sheep´s milk) will be a perfect companion to the sweet beetroot sauce. And how cute is this heart-shaped pasta, by the way? 😀 it´s called rigacuore from Rummo (a common and pretty good italian pasta brand). If you don´t have much time, you can prepare this sauce ahead 😉 enjoy!

Valentine´s special: Pasta with Beetroot Sauce

Serves: 3 Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

  • 500g pre-cooked beetroots
  • 125g creme fraiche 
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper a generous pinch
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g hazelnuts gound
  • 1 tsp agave syrup
  • 240g pasta of choice
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • spring onions green ends finely chopped
  • crumbled feta / salted ricotta to sprinkle on top

Instructions

  1. Turn on the oven to 180C.
  2. On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, add the chopped beetroot seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon and olive oil.
  3. Place in the oven to roast for about 15 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, place a pot with water to boil, for the pasta.
  5. In a food processor, add the sour cream, agave syrup, pinch of salt, and lemon juice.
  6. Add salt to the boiling water, then add the pasta to the boiling water.
  7. Once the beetroots are done (they should be tender and nicely browned), transfer them to the food processor.
  8. Blend everything to a smooth cream.
  9. If too dense, add a couple of tbsp of pasta cooking water.
  10. Add the chopped nuts and blend for an extra 30s.
  11. Taste the sauce and eventually adjust the seasoning.
  12. Once the pasta is ready, drain it and transfer to a plate.
  13. Mix in the sauce well.
  14. Transfer both the serving plate, then garnish it with the chopped spring onions, a few drops of olive oil and the feta/ricotta cheese.
  15. Enjoy!

Notes

Storage: you can keep the sauce for about 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe

* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.