Pasta with Beets and Blue Cheese

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Prep Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Servings:
6

This fall pasta combines the robust taste of blue cheese with seasonal beets.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds small red or golden beets, scrubbed well

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • ¼ cup fresh orange juice

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander

  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

  • 1 pound gemelli, or other short tubular pasta

  • 6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; add 1/2 cup water. Seal dish tightly with foil. Bake beets until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off skins. Slice beets into wedges.

  2. In a large bowl, toss beets with garlic, orange juice, oil, and coriander; season with salt and pepper.

  3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot; toss with half of the blue cheese and enough reserved pasta water to coat pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Divide the pasta mixture among plates; top with beets and remaining blue cheese. Serve immediately.

Cook's Notes

You can substitute two 16-ounce cans of whole beets for the fresh ones. Drain them and pat dry, then cut into wedges; continue with step 2. To remove beet skins, wait until the cooked beets cool, then rub off the skins using paper towels to protect your hands from the beet juice.

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