perfectly pink beet pasta
This pasta dish is gluten-free, full of nutrients, and naturally pink from a delicious beet sauce! It’s complete with protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and essential nutrients for a balanced meal!
Learn more about creating balanced meals here!
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 box (4 servings) of red lentil pasta or regular pasta (I love Tolerant Organic red lentil pasta) - also, if you are using regular pasta, I recommend adding a side of protein such as chicken breast or salmon
around 4 cups chicken broth, bone broth, or vegetable broth (I love using Kettle and Fire or Bonafide Provisions)
1/4 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk (I use Three Trees almond milk or Native Forest simple coconut milk)
3 small beets
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1 cup goat cheese crumbles
baby arugula
one lemon
nutritional yeast
Celtic sea salt
fresh black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Method:
(to save time, begin by washing and slicing tomatoes and chopping walnuts and set them aside for later.)
wash beets well, then chop beets into halves or quarters (depending on size) and peel garlic cloves
place chopt beets and garlic in a large pot; add 2 cups of chicken broth
bring to a boil
one boiling cover and simmer until beets are very tender and cooked through (you can stick a knife or fork straight, though)
once beets are cooked, remove beets and garlic from the pot and place in a bowl for later
in the pot with the remaining red broth, add your pasta along with around two more cups of broth
cook pasta until al dente
drain pasta and save the broth, leaving the pasta in the pot
in a blender, add garlic, cooked beets, juice of one lemon, almond milk, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast
add leftover broth slowly to the blender as you blend - add until the constancy is nice and smooth
blend until a smooth and creamy pink sauce forms
pour sauce over pasta and mix until coated
add in tomatoes, 1/2 cup of goat cheese, and baby arugula
stir until everything is combined and distributed
serve and top with crushed walnuts and remaining goat cheese (can also sub walnuts for pistachios and goat cheese for feta)
drizzle with a bit of EVOO
some nutrients in beet pasta -
Red lentils - protein, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, potassium, polyphenols
Beetroot - fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin c
Baby arugula - calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium, magnesium
Garlic - manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium, fiber
Lemon - vitamin C, other important plant compounds
Extra virgin olive oil - monounsaturated fats
Black pepper - vitamin K, vitamin E, vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic Acid (B5), vitamin B6, manganese, copper, iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, chromium
Tomatoes - fiber, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K1, Folate (vitamin B9), and other important plant compounds
Walnuts - omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, copper, folic acid, phosphorus, vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin E, antioxidants, and other plant compounds such as melatonin
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/beetroot#:~:text=Packed%20with%20essential%20nutrients%2C%20beetroots,pressure%2C%20and%20increased%20exercise%20performance.
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/benefits-arugula
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-health-benefits-of-garlic
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-lemon
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-black-pepper
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/tomatoes#plant-compounds
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/walnuts#nutrition