In my experience, it seems that beets elicit a pretty strong reaction from people. Most of the time, it’s something like, “Ugh. Is that the stuff they serve on salad bars?” But occasionally, I’ll find someone like me who actually enjoys these richly hued roots.

As it so happens, my husband Seth is one of the latter group, so I can make as many beet-laden dinners as I want. Accordingly, when I found this pasta recipe from The Realistic Nutritionist floating around Pinterest, I was really excited to give it a try. You should try it too—it’s as delicious as it is beautiful.

Eat by color, y’all.

Pasta with Roasted Beet Sauce

adapted from The Realistic Nutritionist

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dry whole wheat spaghetti noodles
• 2 large beets, cleaned and trimmed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounce container of plain 2% Greek yogurt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 5-6 leaves fresh basil

Method

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and set aside to cool.

2. Rinse beets with water. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place beets on a lightly greased roasting pan with skin on. Place in the oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes, or until beets have softened.

3. Let cool. With gloves on (so you don’t stain your hands) gently peel away the skin of the beets. Place the whole beets into the base of a food processor. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and onions. Pulse until it resembles a puree.

4. Add in yogurt, lemon zest and chopped basil. Puree again until mixture is fully combined. Taste test and add additional salt or lemon zest if need be.

 

5. Pour mixture over pasta, toss to coat, and garnish with basil leaves.

Nutrition per 1/4th recipe: 274 Calories, 6.5g fat, 3mg cholesterol, 305mg sodium, 50.2g carbohydrate, 7.5g fiber, 6.0g sugars, 11.4g protein

So how do you feel about beets? Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

Filed under: Recipe