Tomato-Beet Pasta

Okay, it's time to step out of your food safety box and try something different.  Don't let the color put you off, I mean, yes, it's a toxic pink and looks like something that fairies would food fight with, but still.  I was skeptical when my friend Meredith pulled the recipe out of her file for us to try, but oooo-doggies, it was good.  There wasn't much in the way of leftovers after dinner because everyone went back for seconds (and even some thirds).  So I'm telling you, Mikey, try it, you'll like it.

Tomato-Beet Pasta

1 lbs beets
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped and slightly grated
1/4 med purple onion, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
3 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
hot red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
drizzle of balsamic vinegar, to taste
elbow macaroni
fresh grated parmesan

Chop off the beet leaves (if any) and place beets in a deep pot.  Add in enough water to cover them and bring water to a boil.  Boil until beets are fork tender.

Remove beets from water and allow to cool enough to handle.  The skin will be lose enough to peel right off when you pinch it between your fingers or rub it gently with a paper towel.

for the record my sous chef was 8-1/2 mos pregnant when this
photo was taken, normally she had lovely non-puffy hands that I
don't want to find around my neck, so I have added this disclaimer

Once peeled, rough chop the beets and set aside.

In a large saucepan, lightly saute the onion, sweet pepper and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat.

in case you were wondering, the white is not onion, it's a white pepper

that Meredith had on hand from their Farmer's Market veggie selection,

it was sweet, not as sweet as an orange pepper, but along those lines

If you want to add a bit of Zizz to the dish, throw in a couple of hot pepper flakes and continue to saute for a moment.  Add in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

we prefered to run our chopped tomatoes through

the blender and just did a couple of seconds on

grate to get it to the texture we wanted for the dish

Turn down the heat to a simmer and allow the mixture to reduce to a thicker sauce consistency.

While that's simmering, boil up your elbow macaroni according to box directions.  When done, drain and set aside.

Mix the chopped beets into the tomato mixture, then stir and cook together for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove sauce from the heat and mix together with the prepared noodles.

Serve up a heaping dish and top with fresh grated parmesan and a loaf of crispy bread.

NOTES

You can substitute canned beets for fresh beets.  Just drain them and rough chop them before adding to the tomato mixture.

For a tidge of color, you can add some fresh chopped basil to the tomato mixture when you add in the beets.