Beets and Pasta

Nina Marcinowski

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°. 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. Serves 6