Beetroot feta pasta with gremolata

Considering the now permanent placement of a batch of beetroot feta sauce in my fridge, it’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago I wasn’t all that into beets.

That was until, back in early January, I was being cooked for by a friend who had a surplus of beetroot in her local vegetable box - ‘is beetroot feta pasta OK?’ - she said. Although not entirely convinced about this dish’s deliciousness, this friend is a brilliant and resourceful cook (although she doesn’t think so) so I trusted her to take beets to a tasty place.

After a spell in the oven with the odds and ends of various alliums and a quick blitz in a blender, a miraculous thing had occurred - earthiness had given way to a mellowed savoury flavour that benefitted from a generous grating of Parmesan. Tossed with chunky rigatoni and served piled high in bowls that we ate from on the sofa, it was a vegetable-based revelation.

Since then, I’ve been developing my own version, testing red onions vs brown, perfecting the beetroot to feta ratio, and finding the ideal topping to make this sauce really sing.

While I settled on a walnut gremolata, traditionally made with just parsley, lemon and garlic but texturally benefitted by the addition of a handful of nuts, I’ve also enjoyed rocket tossed with torn basil leaves, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

If you’d like to make a batch of the sauce ahead of time, it’ll keep well in a container in the fridge for up to a week. To reheat, add a splash of pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce a little, as time in the fridge will make it quite stiff.

I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I did, and that, like me, you’ll unlock the unexpected joys of cooking with hardy beets.

Serves 4

For the beetroot feta pasta
300g raw beetroot
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 x 200g block of feta
2 tbsp olive oil
20g Parmesan, plus extra to serve
400g rigatoni
Sea salt and black pepper

For the gremolata
30g flat-leaf parsley
50g walnuts
1 garlic clove
1 lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
Sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).

2. Chop off the beetroot stalks and set them aside for later. Peel and quarter the beetroot and set aside with the stalks. Peel and quarter the onion and crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife, allowing the papery skins to slide off.

3. Add the beetroot, onion and garlic to a large lidded pan (or a high-sided baking dish that you can cover with foil), drizzle over the olive oil, season and toss to coat. Then, add the feta on top. Cover with the lid or foil and cook for 30 minutes in the oven.

4. Meanwhile, make the gremolata. Finely chop the parsley, stalks and all, walnuts and garlic clove. Add to a bowl with the olive oil and the zest of the lemon, then the juice of one half. Season and stir to combine, then set aside for later.

5. When the 30 minutes is up, remove the dish from the oven and take off the lid or foil. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta using the pack instructions (I like to cook mine 1-2 minutes less than the packaging states for an al dente feel). Make sure to save a cupful of pasta cooking water for the sauce.

7. After the final 15 minutes of cooking time, remove the dish from the oven and grate in the Parmesan. Next, blend the vegetables and feta using a stick blender, or transfer to a standing one. Blitz until smooth, adding pasta water if needed to loosen.

8. Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce, then serve with the gremolata sprinkled on top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and extra grated Parmesan.