Woah, there has been an awful lot of celebrating going on over here! I graduated and had a party; my dad (and his twin) turned 60 last week and we had a party; my sister moved out of our old house and into a beautiful new condo and... well, I guess we didn't technically celebrate, but there were several mimosas consumed over the course of the weekend. Anyhow, my point is that I've been awfully busy and haven't had a chance to do any recipe testing until today.
With the advent of my newly acquired post-graduation freedom, I have made it my mission to teach myself new things. First things first, I ordered a bunch of history books, in an effort to learn more about, well, history (let's get serious, I haven't studied that stuff since, maybe, middle school?). OK, so I haven't actually started reading any of them yet, but I'll get there, I promise. I also realized that I'm at a point in my life that it is no longer acceptable to say "I can't" or "I don't know how" or "I don't like that." So, obviously, the first place to start was making myself like foods that I have been convinced I completely despise. Because I like the challenge.
Beets are a remarkable little root vegetable, don't you think? On the one hand, they possess an exquisite color and are super good for you- full of folate and manganese, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke [this sounds like a pharmaceutical commercial...]. However they also smell and taste like dirt, making them highly unappealing to most sane persons. Well my friends, today was the day I decided to cook beets in a way that made them both appealing and palatable. Hence the pasta. I mean, who doesn't love pasta??? This makes those pesky little beets totally worth trying at least, am I right? [Just say yes so we can move on...]
Alright, let's get down to business: roasting makes everything better, this is a fact. I roasted these babies with sweet onions and garlic, and plopped them atop a mountain of creamy pasta goodness and it was fricken' awesome. Just try it. Once. To better yourself as a person.
Ingredients:
4 small beets, peeled and cubed
8 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1/3 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
3 cups vegetable broth
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
12 oz pasta
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss beets, garlic, and onions in a baking dish with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 30-35 min, stirring once, until beets are tender.
In a blender or food processor, combine cashews, wine, veg broth, cornstarch, garlic, and thyme, and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour sauce into a sauce pan and heat on high until bubbling, then turn heat down to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to cook the pasta. Cook according to directions on the package. Drain and return to the pan. Add the sauce and stir until all the pasta is covered.
Serve the pasta hot with a big heaping helping of the beet/onion/garlic goodness.
Savor the deliciousness of roasted beets on pasta. So good.
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