Beet Tagliatelle
…the multitudinous seas incarnadine.
Macbeth was talking about his bloody hand, but beets are pretty incarnadinacious in their own right. Just have a look at this pasta. No food coloring. No photoshop. That’s just pasta that’s absorbed beet juice, which I suppose – if you’re getting picky – is pretty much food coloring after all.
But it sure is red isn’t it? It’s also delicious. Beety, creamy, and al dente, it’s a great way to transition into fall cooking.
I’ve been getting a beet or two every week in my CSA and had been letting them accumulate in my crisper. I’d roast a few every so often, but I was getting sick of roasted beets and eager for something else to do with them.
I found this recipe on epicurious.com, which is a site I can’t say enough good things about. So I won’t try. Just go check it out. A great resource for when you’re feeling uninspired.
Unlike most recipes I make, where I feel comfortable omitting just about as many ingredients as I like, I’m going to go ahead and say that both the lemon juice and the cayenne pepper are critical here. You could live without the parsley flavor-wise, but it would be a real aesthetic loss.
If only all of our food could look so much like Christmas…
Tagliatelle with Shredded Beets, Sour Cream, and Parsley
From Bon Appétit
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (packed) coarsely grated peeled uncooked beets (about 3 large)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 ounces tagliatelle or fettuccine
1 8-ounce container sour cream
6 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
1. Melt butter with oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; stir until pale golden, about 1 minute.
2. Add beets and cayenne; reduce heat to medium-low and sauté just until beets are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in sour cream and 4 tablespoons parsley, then beet mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl.
4. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.
as a general rule, i love eating anything deep red in color (raw meat, blood orange juice), and this seems like no exception. but for some reason i’m having trouble imagining what it actually tastes like. kevin?
Jeeeeez. So demanding! You want to know what it TASTES like?!?
Alright, I suppose that’s fair. Borscht-y?
It’s hard to define, honestly. The beets give it some sweetness, the sour cream some creaminess, the lemon juice some tartness, and the cayenne pepper some spiciness. The beets are definitely the dominant flavor, but it’s not at all like sitting down to a plateful of beets.