In my humble opinion, food is rarely controversial, but if you want to find lovers and haters, the beet is the way to go. I have friends on both sides of the fence, but not a single one straddles it. Clearly I’m a beet lover, and I’m currently celebrating the fact that they are quite the thing in the culinary world this year. Beets are kind of the bell-bottoms of food, some years they’re very groovy and then the next year completely out of style.
Yesterday I was craving a beet, arugula, and walnut salad. I didn’t have a particular recipe in mind, but all of those ingredients sounded yummy. Myhusband, Sammy was going to the store and promised to get beets for me. That was very nice of him, but he failed to tell me that he was unsure of what one might look like in its “natural” state. I have grown them in my garden, kept them in my fridge, and cooked them for years, so I guess that tells you which side of the beet fence Sammy’s on as if that were a question. I was imagining a small bunch of baby beets, maybe, if I was lucky, a color combination of red and yellow, but what came home from the store were two beets each the size of a grade school kickball. These were clearly not salad worthy but they weren’t going to waste either. I decided to make one of my favorite dishes, that I’ve never seen as a recipe in print, and must have dreamed up long ago in a year when beets were in vogue -Pink Spaghetti. That’s right, I call it Pink Spaghetti and it’s very pretty and delicious. The juice from the beets make it pink and the beets, along with garlic, rosemary, and really good Parmesan cheese make it delicious. No guarantees, but it just might convert a beet hater. On the bright side, it’s sure to delight a beet lover so conjure up your inner artist and enjoy some Pink Spaghetti on a cold winter’s night.
Ingredients
1 large or 3 small beets
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese
About 8 oz spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash and trim beet(s) and place on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with a 1 Tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Wrap foil around beet(s) and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Ideally you can rub the peel off with your fingers, but if a little remains don’t worry about it.
Cut beet(s) into slices and then cubes.
Heat remaining olive oil in a small skillet.
Add beets, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, and sauté until beets are tender and garlic is beginning to brown, about five minutes.
Combine beet mixture with hot cooked spaghetti and Parmesan cheese. Admire how pink it is and then enjoy!
