This vibrant Pink Spaghetti with Beet Pesto is deliciously nutty, earthy, and full of flavor. The beet pesto is perfect with pasta but can also be used on bread and as a pizza sauce.
You might be asking, “Meiko what are you up to now with this pink pasta crap?” And I would respond with a sassy, Hol’ Up Boo – dot dot dot, it’s not as crazy as you think. Rest assured I’m not in some lab coat testing food with absurd artificial chemicals and dyes to achieve this color. This dish is about as natural as Issa Rae’s flat twists, honey.
That being said I will forewarn you that this recipe may feel a bit like DIY project because plastic gloves (and maybe even an apron) are a necessity.
Plus we are wrapping up breast cancer awareness month and I can’t think of a more suitable contribution than a pink recipe that tastes even better than how amazing it looks.
The secret to achieve the pasta’s rich color was the inclusion of beets. Yes I said it, beets. And I’m not talking about the pre-diced and sliced kind. I used the ones that look like you just pulled them out of your garden with the root still intact.
I love beets for their flavor and all their amazing nutritional benefits but I honestly don’t cook with them much. So once I got over the initial alarm of the girth of the vegetable and put on my plastic gloves, it was smooth sailing from there.
To prepare the dish I boiled the beets until they were tender. After that rinse them to help them cool down. From there its pretty easy to remove the outer skin (this is where the plastic gloves are important in order to avoid staining your hands). I was feeling extra domestic that day but you don’t have to do all this. You can certainly start with pre-peeled and sliced or cubed beets if you like.
I then pulsed the chopped beets in food processor with all the other ingredients and you end up with a vibrant and smooth beet pesto. From there you just toss your already cooked pasta in the pesto and the noodles absorb the color from the beets. It’s like magic.
Not only is the dish striking but also beyond delicious. I could definitely see you getting a few cool points if you served this at your next dinner. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts. @meikoandthedish #meikoandthedish.
