This beetroot and feta pasta is an easy quick recipe that will bring a fun joyful colour to your table! Packed with essential nutrients and a delicious taste.
Beetroots are one of the best vegetables you can eat! They are not just packed with beneficial nutrients but they are also so colourful! For this pasta sauce, I blend the beetroots with feta cheese. Beetroots tend to have an earthy flavour which might not be enjoyed by most. Adding in the feta helps to minimize the strong beetroot flavour and balance it with the signature salty cheese taste.
Ingredients for this Pasta
- Beetroot: the main ingredient of this pasta sauce. Apart from giving a nice rich vibrant colour, beetroot is loaded with essential nutrients.
- Feta Cheese: with it’s salty and tangy taste, feta cheese is perfect to reduce the strong earthiness flavour the beetroot tends to have.
- Olive oil: apart from adding a richness to the sauce, the olive oil help to smooth it out.
- Lemon: a touch of acidic flavour helps to balance out and bring out the delicious flavours.
- Chili Flakes: just a small pinch gives a slight kick to the sauce.
- Garlic: because what is a recipe without garlic?
- Pistachios: these are optional, but I love how the green colour pops against the pink/red colour.
How to make this Beetroot and Feta Pasta
This is a relatively easy to make which requires minimal cooking. You can either use ready cooked beets or else cook them yourself. Start by cooking the pasta in boiling water. While the pasta is cooking, make this beetroot sauce. In a food processor, blitz together the cooked beetroot, feta cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, chili flakes, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Blitz the sauce until extra silky and smooth. Once the pasta is ready, drain from the water but reserve some of it. Toss the pasta in the sauce and add some of the water if needed. Finish the pasta with extra crumbled feta cheese and crushed pistachios.
FAQs
Can I store any leftover sauce?
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for not more than 3 days. When ready to use simply toss it with the cooked pasta and let it heat up slightly. Beware, that the colour might change slightly to a darker one.
Why is my beetroot sauce a different colour?
There are multiple different varieties of beetroots. For this reason, not all beetroot give the same colour. I have used store-bought ready cooked beetroots, which gave a deep rich red/pink pasta sauce. However, your pasta can have a bright rich pink magenta colour, or else a paler red colour. For a deeper rich vibrant colour, it’s always best to cook the beetroots yourself from fresh as this way they retain all their colour.
Beetroot and Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 500 g cooked beetroot
- 150 g feta leave some for garnish
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp beetroot water
- Salt and pepper
- crushed pistachios to garnish
- 340 g pasta of your choice
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the pasta until al dente in salted water according to the instructions on the package.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a food processor add the beetroot, feta, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chili flakes and season with salt and pepper. Blitz everything until smooth.
- Drain the pasta and set aside about half a cup of the pasta water.
- Toss the pasta with the beetroot sauce and add some of the reserved pasta water. Toss until the pasta is all covered with the sauce.
- Plate the pasta, sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese and crushed pistachios on top.
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!
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