During a recent shopping trip, I got my hands on this beautiful red linguine. In this instance, I’m all for more is more, so I decided to pair this beetroot-tinted pasta with even more beetroot. Don’t just buy pre-cooked beets, though. They might do for some recipes, but for this dish (and, let’s be honest, for most other dishes) fresh specimens baked in their own skin are infinitely superior. The perfectly chewy texture of the pasta, the sweet and earthy notes of the juicy oven-baked beetroot, the acidic kick of the balsamic vinegar, the creaminess of the melted goat’s cheese: this is pasta at its best. 

Ingredients (for 2):

125 g red linguine* (coloured with red beet & red wine)

3 large red beets

3 large shallots, very finely sliced

soft goat’s cheese

balsamic vinegar

dried thyme

black pepper

coarse sea salt

* If you can’t get your hands something like this, just use very high-quality, regular linguine.

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.  Wrap each beet in aluminium foil and bake for about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, sauté the sliced shallots, until very soft and golden brown.
• Peel the beets carefully, taking care not to burn your fingers. Chop them to your liking, but keep it chunky.
• Add the beetroot to the shallots in the pan. And continue to fry on medium heat. Add dried thyme, sea salt and (lots of!)black pepper and a few generous splashes of balsamic vinegar.
• Boil the pasta according to instructions.
• Crumble the soft goat’s cheese into the pan with the beetroot and shallots and stir through, so it melts and covers the beetroot like a creamy sauce.
• Drain the pasta and add a little extra virgin olive oil to keep it from sticking.
• Now mix everything together and serve immediately.