Jan

10

Pasta a risotto with red beets

January 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Happy New Year to all of you! I just got back from a long vacation in Minnesota where I had such a wonderful time with friends and family. I’m still adjusting to the time difference, which means staying awake most of the night, but this didn’t stop me from making this pasta that I was craving for a long time.

I like pasta and love to experiment new recipes and methods. A method that I’m particularly fond of is to cook pasta as if making risotto. It’s in fact called “pasta a risotto”. It’s easier than preparing risotto itself, but you still have to follow the preparation closely if you don’t want to end up with an overcooked pasta dish. The best pasta types are the small format like pennette, maccheroni, farfalle and cavatappi. They hold better and they’re prettier to see in the final preparation.

For this particular recipe I chose fresh red beets and leeks that I just bought at my local farmer. Red beets give a pretty color to the pasta not to mention the great taste. I added toasted poppy seeds at the end to give a nutty flavor to the dish and to balance the sweet taste of the red beet. I was going to add some Parmigiano to the pasta as in the risotto, but the poppy seeds proved to be enough to complete the dish without taking away from the beet flavor.

Pasta a risotto with red beets

Ingredients

5 oz. cavatappi pasta
2 1/2 Tbsp. thinly sliced leeks
2 oz. 1/3 heaping cup minced red beets
1 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 liter vegetable broth made with 1/2 onion, 1 celery stalk and 1 small carrot

Yields: 2 persons

Preparation:

In a nonstick pan saute leeks, 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for few minutes than add the beets.
Add about 1/4 cup water and cook until tender for about 10-15 minutes.
Add the pasta and mix until well combined. Now add about 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and stir until the liquid is all absorbed. Add more broth and keep stirring.
The pasta is ready when is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed.
For the finish touch, heat up 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds in small nonstick pan. Let them pop and then add them to the pasta. Serve immediately.

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Mickstonedesigns on January 17, 2010 3:03 pm

    Yum! How lucky that you are in Italy. Happy New Year!

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