Beet and Ricotta Pasta
{Cherry Bombe’s Pink Spaghetti}
In honor of Valentine's Day, we made food writer Elettra Wiedemann's pink spaghetti, which she contributed to the cookbook, "Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook." When we considered what to make for a dedicated Valentine's Day video, Dak instantly thought of the beet and ricotta pasta that's decorated Instagram for the last year. While it's certainly eye catching, it's even more delicious. Ju tested the recipe ahead of filming this and adjusted it only slightly. We used bucatini, rather than spaghetti, but use whatever shape of pasta you'd like! We added a bit of garlic and more lemon juice and salt to taste, but you can adapt this however you'd like! If you don't know, Cherry Bombe is among our favorite publications (Dak has every issue and proudly stacks them as if they were trophies, dusting them with a superior drama). If you love following along with the latest highlights of women in the food industry—check it out.
This pasta is deliciously creamy from the combination of boiling water and ricotta. The beet flavor translates on the pasta as slightly sweet, yet earthy. The use of garlic gives a depth we craved, while the fresh basil and lemon (zest and juice) cut the fat of the ricotta for a more balanced flavor. The key here is using the heavily salted pasta water to loosen the beet sauce, which simultaneously makes it the right level of saltiness and luscious. Add the preliminary of salt listed to the sauce itself and then let he pasta water do the rest of the work. It's always helpful to keep pasta water around, just in case you want to thin it out more (it will stiffen fairly quickly, so mixed right before serving). Make this for your lover or for yourself! Let us know how it goes and Happy Valentine's Day. We love this holiday and will never apologize for it. — Love, Dak and Ju
Ingredients
Kosher salt
2 red beets, the size of tennis balls
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil (divided use)
1/2 cup boiling water plus 1 cup pasta water reserved
2 cups part-skim ricotta
1 pound dried spaghetti, bucatini or preferred pasta
juice from 1 lemon
For topping- optional
freshly grated Parmesan
chopped fresh basil
chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
lemon zest
Instructions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. In the meantime, using a food processor fitted with a shredding attachment or using a box grater, shred the beets by hand-you should end up with approximately 3-4 cups of beets. Roughly chop 2 cloves of garlic.
Add the grated beets, a large pinch of salt, and garlic to a medium sized saucepan and sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes, to soften and remove the raw edge off of the beets.
When the water is boiling, add the pasta, and cook according to the package. Remember to reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water when straining.
After about 3 minutes, using a ladle or glass measuring cup, add approximately ½ cup of hot or boiling water from the pasta pot into the saucepan with the beets. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes- adding the water helps to continue softening the beets.
After three minutes, remove the saucepan from the stove and transfer the beets and garlic into a food processor. Add about 1/4 c of olive oil and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Run the processor until the beets are smooth. Stop and add the ricotta and lemon juice - process again until the sauce is smooth. This is where you get to taste the sauce and decide whether you think it needs more salt! Remember- you’ll be tossing the pasta with salty pasta-cooking water and topping with parmesan and flake salt.
Place strained pasta back into the large pot you boiled your water in. Begin to add the sauce into the pot, one scoop at a time, while also slowly pouring in the hot pasta water - this will help loosen the sauce and allow it to coat the noodles. Gently stir to coat, adding as much sauce as you want! Any remaining sauce can be stored for later use or frozen.
Plate pasta, top with parmesan, flake salt, fresh herbs and walnuts (if using) and admire.
Serves 4-6