Beet Pasta

Author Notes

Ever wonder how pasta makers get lovely colors into a normally off-white dough? Beets. Or spinach. Whichever the recipe calls for.

Now, I realize this answer doesn’t take red or green dyes into account, but when making a good quality pasta, the easiest way to infuse natural flavor (and color) is from the ingredients themselves. This is why spinach pasta tastes so darn good–the fresh greens used to color the dough add a certain je ne sais quoi to the dough that I just love. Likewise, beets add a natural candy-ness when infused correctly, or simply a bright red color if going for a different take on an Italian favorite.



I should preface this recipe by saying that although this pasta is red, it doesn’t taste like beets. I opted for 2 very small roasted beets to test my first batch, but discovered that if you’re a lover of beets, the root’s natural wetness can be continually added to your dough to increase the red color and the beet-like flavor. But, let’s start with 2 beets first….



2 beets create an extremely red dough, but the redness fades a bit during cooking. When plated, I felt the dish had a more pink-like quality to its appearance, but still a lovely presentation.



Since the pasta really takes the center stage here, I plated the dish with a simple toss of goat cheese, basil, and some salt and pepper to taste. In flavor and texture, this beet dish was lovely, and with the help of a good-quality pasta machine, store-bought brightness can be made right at home. —Helana Brigman