One Local Summer 2011 – Week 12

This week’s inspiration came in the form of beets.  I’d seen a few recipes around the interwebs about how to make beet pasta.  Having found beets at the farmer’s market the other week, I decided to give it a go.  The recipe is below, but the basics are to roast the beets, make a puree, and then make pasta as usual, but use 1/4th cup beet puree instead of an egg or water.  Perfect!  The color came out so vibrant, but leeched a little into the water while boiling, so the finished cooked pasta was light pink instead of deep purple.  Still incredibly beautiful and different.  We decided to go with a cheese/alfredo type sauce to top it off (marinara sauce just didn’t seem right), and add some turkey and grilled zucchini to finish off the red, white, and green theme for this plate.  Turned out amazing, and the sauce, while calorie packed full of fancy cheeses, was DELICIOUS.  Just a spoon full is enough!

Beet Pasta with Cheese Sauce, Turkey, and Zucchini:
Turkey Breast – Mountain View Organics
Zucchini – Back Yard Garden
Beets – Charlestown Farm
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Onions – Charlestown Farm
Garlic – Charlestown Farm
Equinox Cheese  – Birchrun Hills Farm
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Goat Cheese (Oregano & Paprika) – Yellow Springs Farm
Smoked Sea Salt – Pureblend Teas
Wine – Chaddsford Winery (Pierreno Grigio)
Non Local  – Olive Oil, Pepper

Beet Pasta	Print
Ingredients
3 average-sized beets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Wash beets and remove greens.  Wrap in aluminum foil with 1 tbsp olive oil drizzled on top.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender.  Allow to cool and remove skins.  Process into about 1/2 cup puree. Put 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour into bowl, making a well in the middle. Add in 1/4 cup beet puree and 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix together with your hands and kneed until dough is firm and not sticky.  Add water or flour if dough is too dry or wet. Either roll through a Kitchen Aid Pasta roller/cutter or by hand with a rolling pin and knife. Hang pasta and allow to dry or boil right away and enjoy!