How amazing is the colour of that pasta?! And no, there are no spiralized beets involved in it’s making. ☺ This new recipe is my roasted beetroot and thyme spaghetti, topped with olive oil toasted walnuts and sage. It’s quite striking and bold in its appearance and tastes just as amazing as it looks!
To create that amazing beetroot stained pasta colour I pureed roasted beets and tossed cooked spaghetti through the pureed sauce. As the spaghetti is coated in the sauce it absorbs the flavour and also that gorgeous vibrant red colour. I then add some texture by adding toasted walnuts and salty crispy sage. Yum!
For a dairy-free or vegan version simply leave out the Parmigiano or replace it with nutritional yeast and replace the goats' cheese with a dairy-free version like an almond or macadamia nut feta. You could also leave these ingredients out as the recipe is still delicious with simply the beets, garlic, herbs and nuts.
When I’m cooking this spaghetti for just Mike and I I like to make a whole batch of the sauce and then portion it into two or three containers to freeze. Then when we are in need of a quick and easy dinner I just defrost the sauce, heat it up, and add some freshly cooked spaghetti or pasta. I sometimes even just add the frozen sauce directly to a saucepan and defrost and heat the sauce at the same time.
For this shoot, I used gluten-free spaghetti by Barilla. It’s my favourite gluten-free spaghetti by far (and I’ve tried many!!) as its texture is just like normal spaghetti. My mum is gluten intolerant, so instead of making two types of pasta when the family is over I use the Barilla GF spaghetti and no one can tell the difference! Please feel free to use your favourite spaghetti.
I hope you love the recipe as much as I do?! Please let me know how you go. I LOVE hearing your feedback and seeing the photos you all send me of your beautiful creations. @gatherandfeast #gatherandfeast
Enjoy!
Props I used in this post:
Ingredients Bowls: Mud + Bridget Bodenham + Marmoset Found + Lemons Ceramics
Serving Plates: Bridget Bodenham
Ingredients
RSF, VEG (Vegan & Gluten Free Options) 
45 mins 
4-6 - 4 cloves fresh garlic
- 4 tbs fresh thyme leaves
- Pinch chili flakes
- 3-4 large fresh beetroot
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp honey (optional)
- 50g Parmigiano Reggiano or parmesan (optional - leave out for a dairy-free/vegan version)
- 150g goats cheese (optional - leave out for a dairy-free/vegan version)
- ¾ cup walnuts
- 1 bunch fresh sage leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt flakes (I use 'Maldon')
- 500g good quality spaghetti
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F (fan forced oven).
- Peel the beetroot, roughly chop and place onto a paper-lined baking tray and bake for roughly 30 minutes.
- Remove the beetroot from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Add the beetroot to a blender or food processor, then add 2 cups water, the garlic and 2 tbs of the thyme leaves and blend until smooth.
- In a large frypan add 2 tbs olive oil, the walnuts, sage leaves, and ½ tsp of sea salt flakes then cook until the walnuts are golden and the sage is just crispy.
- Remove from the pan, place into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan (no need to rinse out) add the chili flakes and the remaining 2 tbs thyme leaves and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Then add the pureed beetroot mixture, balsamic vinegar, honey, and finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano into the pan and stir for 5-7 minutes until the mixture is warmed through and the garlic has mellowed.
- Cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions (you want the pasta to be al dente with a little bite to it).
- Drain the pasta then add to the beetroot mixture and stir well to combine completely coating the spaghetti (this is when the spaghetti turns that beautiful purple colour!!).
- Place the spaghetti onto serving plates and top with goats cheese and the walnut and sage mixture.
- Serve and enjoy!
